


Star-Crossed

by 0bviousLeigh



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Alternate Universe, Arranged Marriage, Fluff, M/M, Romance, keyshipping - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-20
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-10 00:11:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 39,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7822684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0bviousLeigh/pseuds/0bviousLeigh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barian world has come under new leadership, and seeks to end the hundreds-years long war with Astral world. A political marriage is decided upon, but must be planned carefully. Only a member of nobility will do, but neither planet is truly willing to give one of their own crowns away.</p><p>In the case of Barian world, there is a perfect loophole. Yuma, a young human boy, an orphan who was adopted by the previous regime’s emperors. Not even a member of Barian race, and royal only through law rather than blood, he is immediately offered as a candidate for the marriage. Astral World offers up a citizen who was once a candidate for future leadership—Astral.</p><p>Of course, no one expected Astral and Yuma to actually fall in love, nor for them to attempt real change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue : Peace? I hate the word (as I hate all Astrals)

**Author's Note:**

> I use a lot of Shakespeare quotes. Why? Because secretly I’m a pretentious shit and I take my Gay Anime Romances very seriously. Later chapters of this story will explore the psychological and emotional traumas of war. Chapter 5 (6 including the prologue) is almost entirely keyship sex. Ye have been forewarned.

Nash was the one who brought up ending the Hundreds Years War. It was the first meeting of the new Emperors, and each was to present an idea on what platform to base their reign on. Marin and Dumon were quick to second his motion, Alito and Girag joined the platform after only a few months. Mizael was initially against ending the war at all, but then Nash brought logic into the equation. He pointed out that the war was becoming a strain that Barian world simply could no longer afford, both in terms of lives lost and economic cost. Finally, the only hold out was Vector. It surprised no one.

“Do we even know if they would accept a truce?” Vector asked.

“I’ve already written to ask them,” Nash said, his voice smug. “What will do if they agree to meet and discuss it?”

Vector snarled, “Arm myself to the max because I don’t trust those filthy glowsticks.”

But that turned out not to be necessary. Rather than meet in person, the leader of Astral world suggested their first meeting be over a communication screen, perhaps so that there would be no real danger of anyone being killed. Still, Vector planned to keep a knife on his person, and brandish it threateningly whenever Nash’s back was turned.

Eliphas, the leader of Astral world, was an imposing figure. Vector thought he looked ridiculous, but his fellow Emperors didn’t seem to agree. They were sickeningly polite to the man who had been trying for hundreds of years to destroy their world. It made Vector’s stomach churn.

Vector ignored most of the talking, especially once he realized that Eliphas was open to ending the war. The talks seemed to drone on, Vector never imagined that they would actually come to an agreement in the first meeting, but he realized with a flash of dread that they were coming close to an agreement when Eliphas said the words, “Political marriage.”

“Now hold on,” Vector said, cutting Nash off from whatever pleasantry had been about to leave his mouth, “You want one of us, the Seven Emperors, to marry…who, yourself? Because I see you have no one by your side to suggest a co-leader. Perhaps you have a child?”

Nash was glaring daggers at Vector.

“I would offer a high ranking member of our society,” Eliphas said. “Our people are ranked in standing by their purity. We perform a ritual—”

“I’m sure that’s very interesting,” Vector said, narrowing his eyes. “But what of my other question? Are you suggesting that one of us Seven marry this ambassador of yours? Because I am sorry, that would never happen.”

This gave Eliphas pause. “I suppose that is reasonable. After all, that would make my ambassador one of your own nobility.”

“Yes,” Vector said, “And as we all know in a political marriage, power is not an option.”

“Vector,” Nash hissed.

“No, Vector is correct,” Dumon said thoughtfully. “I believe we all agree, a political marriage would be the best way to ensure peace between our worlds. Not one of us would wish to harm one of our own. The matter that rises now, is whom to send for this marriage?”

“And where would they live?” Alit added. “Surely, this requires much more thought than either of our sides have given at the moment.”

“I agree,” Eliphas said. “Then perhaps we should end our conversation, and arrange another meeting once each of us has found a candidate for the marriage, and can propose a living arrangement.”

The wheels were starting to turn in Vector’s head, and he was glad that Nash took control of the conversation again, so he didn’t have to hide the devious tone he just knew would be in his voice.

When the communication screen went dark, Nash whirled on Vector. “You could have ruined everything you selfish—”

“I bought us time,” Vector interrupted. “But never fear, I already have the answer to our problem.”

“Pray tell,” Marin said, “What could you possibly have thought up?”

Vector rubbed his hands together gleefully. “I believe that our little human charges will be perfect for the job.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Liberties with Alien worlds have been taken. FIGHT ME.
> 
> Title inspired by a line from Romeo and Juliet, act 1 scene 1


	2. A Pair of Star-Crossed Lovers (get to know each other)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be the longest chapter in the entire story, it's nearly 7,000 words ;;

_Yuma clung to Akari’s hand as the carriage went along the road. “Akari, when will mom and dad stop being dead?”_

_Akari flinched and took a deep breath. “Yuma…people can’t stop being dead.”_

_Yuma’s eyes filled with tears. “Then…we don’t have a mom and dad anymore?”_

_Akari sniffled and blinked back tears of her own. “Well, no…but we have each other. And we have the Seven Emperors. And look!” She pointed out of the carriage window, “That’s where we’ll be staying from now on!”_

_Yuma looked and gasped. “We get to live in the castle?”_

_Akari grinned. “Yes, and we each get our own room, and we can play wherever we want.”_

_Yuma could hardly stand to wait for the carriage to stop, and when it did he bolted out and right up the palace stairs. One of the Emperors was waiting, and Yuma knew him right away._

_“Circinus-sama!”_

_The Emperor chuckled and held out his arms. Yuma had always liked him, he had red skin and bright blue eyes, he was so pretty. Yuma ran to him and hugged him._

_“We’ve been waiting for you,” Circinus said. “I have a surprise for you.” He led Yuma and Akari inside, where two more familiar faces were waiting._

_“I believe you’ve met Nash and Marin before, right?” Circinus asked._

_The twins were the children of government officials, Akari and Yuma had met them before at state dinners. They were too young to wear the masks that were customary among adult Barians. As such, their expressions were completely visible. Both of them were smiling._

_Yuma nodded. “Hi,” he said shyly._

_Marin skipped over. “Hi, Yuma! We heard you were coming to live here.”_

_“We’ve been to the palace a few times,” Nash said. “Want us to show you around?”_

_Yuma nodded, shyness forgotten. “Akari, you come too!”_

_Marin took Yuma’s hand and held her other out to Akari, and she took it. Nash took Yuma’s other hand, and together they walked off._

* * *

 

Yuma can barely recall his life on Earth. Akari says that it’s to be expected, he had only been three when they were taken in by the Barians. Akari remembers more from Earth than Yuma, but she doesn’t remember everything. Sometimes she would tell Yuma about the skyscrapers in their old city, the fireworks that lit up the sky on the last night they spent on Earth, and sometimes she would even talk about the foods she missed. Mostly she just talks about their parents. Yuma remembers his father more than his mother—mostly he remembers his father telling him ‘kattobingu’. Yuma and Akari had been born on Earth, but their father was an ambassador to Barian world, so they had spent a lot of time on Barian world when they were growing up. They were on Barian world when their parents were killed. Space travel was always a risk, and it was why Akari and Yuma didn’t always accompany their parents on their travels. Yuma didn’t know exactly what had happened, but Akari told him it was an accident. After that, Yuma and Akari became wards of the Seven Emperors.

To Yuma, Barian world is the only place he could call home, yet in many ways he isn’t part of it. As a human, he stands out like a sore thumb. As a child he could remember asking the Emperors to make him look like them, but they had refused. They said that to do so would betray Yuma’s true heritage, and that one day Yuma would understand why they had made that choice. Yuma had few playmates as a child. Living in the Emperors’ palace, the only people he saw were adult nobility and servants. Occasionally the nobles would bring their children, but not many would play with a human. Two of the few who would were Nash and Marin, and they welcomed Yuma as a playmate, as they frequently grew tired of each other’s company.

As Yuma, Nash, and Marin grew up, their paths began to branch away from each other. Yuma’s future on Barian world was uncertain—he would always have a place in the palace, but it was likely that the palace would be the only place he belonged. Meanwhile Nash was proving himself a great strategist and warrior, and while Marin was just as capable, she was pushed by her parents to a life of serving the god Don Thousand.

Every twenty years, the Seven Emperors would leave the palace and be replaced by a new council, hand chosen by Don Thousand himself. Those wishing to submit themselves for his consideration needed to do so by leaving him a blood sacrifice at his temple. The cycle of the old Emperors came to its end, and Yuma began to wonder how secure his future truly was. He reached out to his old friends and asked them to submit themselves for the god’s consideration. After all when the old council was made to retire and a new council came in, Akari and Yuma were to be put under the new Emperors’ care.

Marin was all in for anything that could prove that she had what it took to be a leader. Nash, on the other hand, was unsure if he could shoulder the responsibility of leading a planet. It took Marin calling him a coward to make Nash leave his own blood sacrifice. If there was one thing Nash wasn’t, it was a coward. When the time came for the announcements of the new Seven, both Nash and Marin made the cut. Nash had been named the First Emperor, and Marin was Second. It was rare indeed for Don Thousand to assign a woman to the Seven, it was well known that he usually assigned his favorite women to the temples.

The other Emperors were all Barians that Yuma had heard of. Dumon was named as Third, then came Vector, Alito, Girag, and finally Mizael. Though all seven shared the power, Nash had the largest sway over the planet. That being said, it is Nash who Akari blames for the political marriage.

“He could have said no,” Akari keeps saying. “He could have said he would send someone else.”

It was Nash who broke the news to Yuma and Akari—the Hundreds Years War was coming to an end, and the end was political marriage. Somehow Yuma had known before Nash said it that he was the one being offered to Astral world.

Akari is at the foot of Yuma’s bed, muttering angrily to herself, and Yuma looks up from his suitcases to throw a hairbrush at her.

“Will you shut up,” Yuma says, no real malic in his words. “It’s done, stop threatening to drown Nash in the ocean.”

Akari slams her fist into Yuma’s mattress. “I can’t believe you accepted this so easily! This is the rest of your life they’re deciding for you!”

In truth, Yuma thought she would be proud of him. How many times has Akari told him to grow up? He’s trying to, he’s agreeing because it’s the right thing to do. He knows in his heart that his parents were working to help the Barians end the war, though nobody has ever confirmed it to his face, and Yuma thinks they would be proud of him for “ _being an ambassador of peace_ ,” as Nash had put it.

The wedding is thirty days away, and Yuma is going to meet his soon-to-be spouse tomorrow. He wants Akari to come, but if she keeps acting like this, he’s going to tell Marin to make her stay home.

“Nobody decided it for me,” Yuma says. “They gave me the option, I accepted. I decided.”

“They didn’t give you an option,” Akari disagrees. “They only made it seem that way.”

Finally, Yuma snaps. He closes his eyes and squeezes his hands into fists. “If you can’t at least pretend to be happy for me,” Yuma growls, “If you can’t think about how this isn’t easy for me, but how I’m trying my best to do the right thing here, if you can’t accept that this is what I’m doing and I’m not changing my mind, then get out of my room and don’t come back.”

There’s a moment of silence, then Yuma hears Akari walk to the door and slam it behind her.

Yuma slumps over his suitcase, breathing heavily. He fully expects Akari to come back soon, she’s his big sister after all, it’s what she does. She gets mad, walks out, then comes back when she’s calmed down. But when the door opens it’s not Akari who walks into Yuma’s room, it’s Marin.

“Are you alright?” She asks kindly. She’s removed her mask.

Yuma nods and smiles. “Just getting ready for the trip.” They’re meeting on a nearby moon called Aries, one of the autonomous regions that occupy the space between Barian and Astral world. When Yuma does marry he’ll probably end up living on one of those moons.

Marin sits on one of the chairs not littered with Yuma’s clothing. “I saw Akari. She seems upset.”

“We fought,” Yuma says. “I told her to get out until she could support me.”

Marin chuckles. “Worrying is how she supports you.”

“I’m trying to do the right thing!” Yuma cries, turning to Marin. “Why can’t anybody see that?! Am I the only one who truly wants peace?”

Marin looks hurt. “We do want peace. But what we’re worried about is making you the bearer of that peace. This was never your war, it seems unfair to make you end it.”

Instead of calming Yuma, that only makes him angrier. “Why? Because I’m not _Barian_ enough to care about the fate of this planet? I may have been born on earth but I’ve lived here for fifteen years! This is my home!”

Marin shakes her head. “That’s not what I meant, Yuma.”

“Then what did you mean?” Yuma asks. “That I’m not old enough? People have been telling me to grow up for three years now, and when I finally decide to listen to them, they start telling me I’m a child!” Yuma resists the urge to stamp his feet and scream. He’s already throwing enough of a tantrum, despite just saying that he’s trying to grow up.

“Yuma,” Marin sighs, “If it were up to me, I would call this off, simply because what I want for you and what Akari wants for you, is for you to marry for love.”

That makes Yuma pause. “What makes you think I couldn’t love someone from Astral world?”

“I didn’t say that,” Marin says, “I mean, someone you could meet on your own, someone you could love without having your meeting been arranged. We would have wanted you to have the option to have a marriage that would allow you children, a future that you could have a say in.”

“How do you propose I do that?” Yuma fires back. “Have you forgotten that for a period of time, you and your brother were my only friends? And as for children, how the hell would that have been possible? I can’t have children with a Barian, and where would I meet a human?”

Yuma can tell he’s thrown Marin off with that. She’s silent for a minute, then she sighs. “I suppose you’re right. I certainly hope you will be happy with the life you’re accepting—”

“Choosing,” Yuma interrupts.

“Choosing,” Marin amends, “And I know that as long as you keep this can-do attitude of yours, Akari will come around.”

The door opens again, but once more it isn’t Akari, it’s Nash. Unlike his sister, he still wears his mask.

“Thought I’d find you here,” He says to Marin. He sits beside her and turns to Yuma. “Marin and I will be going with you tomorrow, and I want you to choose one more ambassador to come with us, aside from Akari.”

Yuma doesn’t even have to think about it. “Kite Tenjo.”

Nash nods and stands. “I’ll go tell him to prepare. Are you ready?”

Yuma looks at the mess around him. “Um…I’m working on it.”

 

_Akari couldn’t stop crying. She was never going to see her mom and dad again, she had no idea what was going to happen to her and her brother, and she was the only human being on the face of this planet._

_She felt someone sit beside her and sat up. She knew the Barian who was beside her, but she couldn’t remember his name. She did know that he was an Emperor, and he usually wore a mask. This time, he wasn’t wearing it._

_The Barian spoke softly. “Akari, I am so sorry for the loss you have suffered.”_

_Akari crumpled. She sobbed harder than ever, and the Barian gathered her in his arms and held her. Akari hadn’t been hugged since her parents died. She clung to the Barian and sobbed into his chest._

_“Akari,” The Barian said gently, “I’m not sure if you remember me. My name is Circinus. Your father was a very good friend of mine.”_

_Akari sobbed so hard she started to choke. Circinus pushed her upright and held her chin. “Akari, please breathe. I know your sadness is overwhelming, but I’m here to tell you that I will help you. Your father and mother left you and Yuma in my care, and I will not let them down. I will ensure that you and your brother will be safe. You have no one to care for you on Earth, so this will be your home now.”_

_Akari slowly calmed down. “We’ll stay on Barian world?” She asked._

_Circinus nodded. “And the Emperors will always care for you both.”_

 

Akari slams open the door to Circinus’ house. “You promised you would take care of us!”

Circinus came out of his library. He was mask-less, Akari marched over to him and slapped him across the face. He didn’t try to defend himself. It only made Akari angrier. “You promised you would keep us safe!” She screamed in his face. “You may be retired but you still have sway! How could you let them do this to Yuma?!”

Circinus shook his head. “No one will make Yuma do anything.”

“BULLSHIT!” Akari screamed. “He’s going to marry some stranger from Astral world, and nobody is stopping him!”

“Akari,” Circinus interrupted, “Yuma has not even met the Astral world candidate yet. If he is unhappy, believe me, Marin and Nash will find a way to either cancel the wedding, or find another Astral world candidate for Yuma. I think you need to consider what it is you are really afraid of here.”

Akari blinked back tears. “I know what I’m afraid of! I’m afraid of my brother being taken away from me!” She fell to her knees and began to sob. “He’s the only family I have left, and they want to take him away from me!”

Circinus knelt and put his hands on Akari’s shoulders. “Then this is what you need to tell Yuma, before you end up hurting him.”

Akari wiped her eyes. “I just wish he would refuse.”

Circinus chuckles. “Have you considered trusting your brother?”

 

Like Yuma’s father, Kite Tenjo is an ambassador between Earth and Barian world, and Yuma first met him four years ago. Though they started off with a rocky relationship, Yuma being too friendly for the guarded Kite, but soon Kite began to at least tolerate Yuma. Yuma has long considered Kite to be one of his closest friends, and he can think of no one else he wants by his side tomorrow. Well, he can think of several others he would want by his side. His parents, for sure, but that can’t happen, and he wishes Akari would get over herself so Yuma could get his sister back.

As if summoned there by his thoughts, Yuma’s door opens and finally, Akari walks in.

Yuma stands from his half-packed suitcase. “Akari!” He takes a step forward, then stops. “Hey, sis…have you been crying?”

Akari’s face is pale but for her cheeks, where red streaks say that yes, she was crying. Akari rushes in and wraps her arms tightly around Yuma’s torso. Yuma chokes as his sister squeezes the life out of him.

“A-Akari, I can’t breathe…”

“Oh, Yuma,” Akari sobs, “I’m so proud of you.”

Yuma gasps out, “You are?”

Akari leans back and puts her hands on Yuma’s cheeks. “Oh baby, of course I am!” She sobs. “How could you ever think I wasn’t? You are so brave, and your loyalty and faith reminds me so much of dad. I know that all you want is to do what’s right, but Yuma, I also don’t want to lose you! Don’t you see?! If you do marry this Astral world noble, you’ll have to leave! You’re all I have left, baby brother, I just don’t want to lose you.”

Yuma grabs Akari’s shoulders, tears now streaming down his cheeks. “Akari you could never lose me! No matter what, you’ll always be my big sister and I’ll always love you more than anyone, and I’ll always need you. Even if I have…if I have to leave, I’ll find a way to make sure that we don’t say goodbye. You should know that you…you jerk face of a sister!”

Akari starts laughing, and Yuma joins her. Soon they’re both falling to the floor, laughing and crying on each other’s shoulders. It’s a long time before either of them has the capacity to speak, but as soon as he gets his breath back, Yuma takes Akari’s hands and says, “I still want you to come with me tomorrow, if you want to.”

Akari chuckles. “As if you could hope to survive without me. Have you even packed yet?”

Yuma rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “No.”

Akari gets to her feet. “Well, let’s get that done.”

 

When Akari and Yuma arrive at the ship that will take them to Aries, both of them look as exhausted as they feel. They stayed up late talking, and each only got a few hours’ sleep. Marin and Nash are too polite to comment on it, but Kite isn’t. He snorts when he gets a look at Yuma.

“You look dashing. A perfect look to meet your future spouse with.”

Yuma sticks out his tongue. “Shut your flap, Kite.”

Kite musses Yuma’s hair and laughs. “Ready to get this show on the road?”

The trip takes less than an hour, and it’s far too fast in Yuma’s opinion. He starts to get nervous, maybe the Astral world ambassador won’t give him a chance once they see him. Do they even know that Yuma is human? Yuma may consider himself a Barian, but what if the Astrals don’t?

“I didn’t think this through,” Yuma whispers as the ship lands, and for a moment he wonders if no one will hear him over the sound of the engine. But Akari and Marin both ask him if he’s okay.

“Fine,” Yuma lies. His stomach is churning.

Akari looks ready to murder someone, but before she can even open her mouth, Marin puts her hand on Yuma’s knee and gives him a kind look.

“Nash and I have arranged everything,” she says softly. “Yuma, you are far too dear a friend for us to even consider this meeting if we weren’t 100 percent sure that you would be treated well. And remember, we’ll be with you the whole time.”

Yuma takes a deep breath and nods. “Thank you, Marin.”

They disembark and Yuma’s worries vanish—he’s always loved the moon regions, but he rarely gets to enjoy them. Aries is a great example of everything that Barian world isn’t. Barian world is very red, and very hot. Aries is filled with colors, and many different kinds of beings make the moon their home. Yuma doesn’t get any weird looks on the moon, he even spies a few humans walking around.

The meeting takes place at a high-class restaurant called _Comet_ , located on the top floor of a twelve-story building. Akari tell Yuma, not for the first time, that the buildings on earth could reach over thirty floors, but since Aries gets a lot of large aircrafts trying to land on a space that’s not very big, building heights are restricted. _Comet_ has one of the best views on Aries.

“Order anything you want,” Nash says as the group exits the lift and walks into the restaurant, “This is a serious meeting for sure, but it ought to be enjoyable.”

They are lead to a private room, one where an entire wall is made of glass. Yuma immediately walks to the window and takes in the sight of Aries spread out before him. Being married won’t be so bad if Yuma gets to live somewhere like this.

As if reading his mind, Marin comes to Yuma’s side and rests her head on his shoulder for a moment. “What do you think, Yuma? Would you like to live somewhere like this?”

Yuma grins and nods. Marin lifts her head and presses one hand to the glass. “I’ll see that it happens,” she says quietly. “You just name the place, dear friend.”

Marin has always been Yuma’s favorite Barian, even when they were kids. Barians, much like humans, all look different. Their bodies come in lots of shapes, sizes, and colors, but they mostly reflect the world they come from. Marin stands out among them with her flowing blue hair and white skin, she looks like the Earth’s ocean, or what Yuma knows of it from pictures he’s seen, and she has the personality of the ocean to match. She can be calm and steady, or stormy and ferocious. She brings so much to the reign of the Emperors, and Yuma isn’t afraid of his future if Marin is looking out for him.

A server enters to bring everyone drinks, except for the twins, who will not remove their masks at all during their time in public. Nash directs Yuma to a seat facing away from the window, which he takes reluctantly. Akari and Marin sit on either side of Yuma, and Nash and Kite flank them. Yuma is dead center at the table, a place he can’t help but feel would be better for Nash, but he doesn’t suggest moving. He can’t stop bouncing his legs, though Akari regularly pokes him and tell him to stop. The group sits facing the door, and all eyes are on it as they wait.

“We’re early,” Nash says, “But they should be here soon.”

And minutes later the door opens and in walk the Astral ambassadors. There are four of them—the first is Eliphas, Yuma would recognize him anywhere. The next two are dressed in the clothing Yuma associates with priestesses, each with form-fitting robes, heavy necklaces, and floor-length hair. The last to enter is the one Yuma is to marry.

Yuma was told beforehand that his betrothed is male, and Yuma expected as much since political marriages are routinely between members of the same sex. Still, he expected someone more like Eliphas. He’s pleasantly surprised to find that his husband-to-be lacks the clunky armor that Eliphas wears—instead he wears a soft, sleeveless robe, held closed with only a few buttons. He is very lean, his limbs long and thin, almost bird-like in their delicacy. His eyes are mismatched, one silver and one gold. His hair is upswept and his only accessory are his earrings, which touch his shoulders. Perhaps most interesting are the patterns of darker skin he has—none of the other three appear to have such discolorations, and Yuma wonders if they are tattoos.

Yuma gets to his feet along with the other Barians and Kite.

“Eliphas,” Nash says.

“Nash,” Eliphas says.

Nash moves to stand behind each member of the group as he introduces them. Yuma has eyes only for the person he assumes he is to marry, and Yuma hears nothing until Eliphas says, “This is our candidate for the marriage. His name is Astral.”

“Astral,” Yuma repeats, before he can stop himself.

Astral grins and nods. “Yuma.”

Yuma shivers. His voice is soft and yet it resonates. He is a powerful speaker, Yuma can already tell.

Everyone is seated. Yuma tries to pay attention to what is being said by Eliphas and Nash, he tries to focus on the menu that is presented to him, but he keeps going back to Astral. He has so many questions, so many things to say, but he keeps his mouth shut because, suddenly, he feels like he doesn’t want to ask them in front of so many people. Suddenly, Yuma wishes he and Astral could be alone. And Astral knows that Yuma is staring, because he is staring too. Yuma wonders if Astral finds _him_ as interesting he is finding Astral.

“Astral,” Akari says loudly, making Yuma break out of his daze, “How old are you?”

“I believe my age is calculated at nineteen, by Barian standards,” Astral says.

“I’m seventeen,” Yuma says. He is relieved—they’re not so far apart in age, that’s a good thing.

“How would that be calculated into Astral standards?” Akari asks.

Astral tilts his head to the side. “I’m not sure…Yuma, what constellation were you born under?”

“Antlia,” Yuma answers.

Astral hums thoughtfully. “You would be twenty by Astral calculations. We have a faster orbital rate than Barian world. But I believe Barian world’s orbital speed is very similar to Earth’s, yes?”

“Only off by a week or so,” Yuma says.

Their food arrives and for once in his life, Yuma doesn’t care about it. He eats, but he barely tastes it. He thinks he won’t finish his food—he feels like he’s going to be sick, but he thinks it’s because he’s excited. So far, Astral seems nice.

After the meal is over, Astral stands. “I wonder if Yuma and I would be able to take a walk.”

Yuma’s stomach does backflips. He stands, too. “Sounds good to me,” he says.

“Not alone,” Eliphas cuts in with a frown.

Kite stands. “I will watch them,” he promises.

Eliphas hesitates, then turns to one of the two women. “Enna will go as well.”

One of the women gets to her feet—she has lighter hair than the other, and Astral smiles at her as he turns to leave. It makes jealousy flare in Yuma’s chest.

Outside of the restaurant, Enna extends her hand to Yuma. “It’s nice to meet you,” she says softly.

Yuma swallows his jealousy and takes Enna’s hand. “You as well,” he says.

Kite introduces himself to Astral, and assures that he and Enna will give Astral and Yuma space. “And I’m sure we can find things to distract us, so you don’t feel like we’re eavesdropping.”

“I appreciate that,” Astral says.

They go to the ground floor and step outside. Astral suggests going to the garden. Yuma agrees and Astral starts to float towards the garden, then suddenly he drops back to the ground.

“I’m sorry,” Astral murmurs. “I’m not used to keeping my feet on the ground.”

It’s sweet of him to want to walk, Yuma thinks. “I don’t mind if you don’t,” he says.

Astral grins. “Thank you, but it really is a habit I want to break if we are to live together permanently.”

He said ‘ _if._ ’ It’s true, the marriage can still be called off, but Yuma was growing quite used to the idea of being married. In his mind, they kind of already are. Yuma looks over his shoulder. Enna and Kite are several yards away, but Yuma is uncomfortably aware of their presence.

“Let’s go sit somewhere,” Yuma suggests.

They find an empty bench in the garden, situated in the shade of a willowy tree. In a twist of fate, the bench has a plaque on it which lets all know that the stone used to make it was donated by Barian world.

“I’ve never been to Barian world,” Astral says, sitting on the bench. He brushes his fingers over the rough stone. “I’ve seen images of it, though. It’s very different from Astral world.”

Yuma sits as well. “What color is the ocean on Astral world?” He blurts.

It’s a random question he knows, but Astral doesn’t comment on it. “Blue, or green,” he answers.

Yuma sighs. “My sister says the ocean on Astral world is like the ocean on earth. On Barian world, our ocean is usually red. But it’s pink when the water is calm—that’s rare, though.”

Astral hums thoughtfully. “That sounds like it would be beautiful. Won’t you miss it?”

Yuma’s stomach clenches, and he tries to laugh off his anxiety. “Well, it’s not as if I can never go back, even if only for a day or two. Same goes for you, doesn’t it?”

“I suppose,” Astral agrees.

Yuma goes on, “Besides, I’ve always liked the moons. Barian world has such a one-sided color palette. I get tired of it easily, all the red and brown, the crystal—everyone who comes to Barian world for the first time says the crystal is so beautiful, but when it’s all you see, it…”

“It loses meaning?” Astral offers.

Yuma nods. “Is it like that for you?”

Astral nods. “Our worlds are quite opposite. Yours is all the colors of fire, and made of crystal. My world is the color of ice, and made of water.” Astral leans closer to Yuma. “Do you remember much of Earth?”

Yuma shakes his head. “My sister remembers more than I do.”

“You haven’t been back?” Astral asks.

Yuma frowns. “I never had a reason to go back. Barian world is my home.”

“I don’t dispute that,” Astral says, “But aren’t you curious? Was it that easy for you to leave?”

Yuma moves away. “I was three, and my parents were dead, there was a lot I didn’t understand. It wasn’t easy but I became a member of Barian world, plain and simple. I may not look like them but they became my new family.” Yuma breaks off, breathing heavily. If Astral is about to start accusing the Emperors of cheating by offering a human for the marriage, Yuma is calling the wedding off, he doesn’t need to waste his time with someone who doubts his commitment to his home.

“It seems I upset you,” Astral says. “I am sorry, that was not my intention.”

Yuma hesitates. “Then what was your intention?”

Astral looks away. “Both of us will leave our homes soon, and we will go somewhere unfamiliar. Surely, the move will not be easy for either of us, but it will be the second time you have adapted to such a change.”

Yuma can feel himself blushing. “Oh,” he says quietly. “Yes, I guess so.”

Astral clears his throat. “What did you think I meant?”

Yuma’s blush deepens. “I thought you were accusing me of not being Barian enough for this.”

“Oh,” Astral says. “No, I don’t think that at all.”

“Does Eliphas?” Yuma asks. Astral hesitates, and it’s all the conformation Yuma needs.

Astral says, “You talk as though this is not something new for you.”

“It’s not,” Yuma says bitterly. “I don’t fit in on Barian world, yet whenever I meet a human, it takes a long time for us to find common ground.”

Astral reaches for Yuma’s hand, then stops himself. He places his hand down next to Yuma’s, not quite touching. “That sounds like a lot for you to deal with. You’re so young to have been through so much already. What does this marriage mean to you?”

Yuma takes a minute to collect his thoughts. “My parents were ambassadors from Earth for Barian world. Though their job didn’t bring them to Astral world, I’ve been told that they were fixtures in the fight for peace. When the marriage was first brought up, I thought that if they were alive, they would be proud of me for helping to achieve that peace. And when I think about all the possible paths my future could follow…well, I don’t have a lot of options. I doubt I would have ever gotten married. So if I could be part of something bigger, if it would make it so that I wouldn’t be alone, or lean on the Emperors for the rest of my life…” he trails off.

“That’s quite a mature viewpoint,” Astral says.

Yuma clears his throat. “What about you? What does this marriage mean for you?”

Astral leans back against the bench and looks up at the sky. “Like you, I also want peace. And I don’t have many options for my future either. I have been in service to Eliphas for a very long time. I believe that he wanted me to be a leader.”

“And you didn’t want that?” Yuma asks.

“I don’t know what I want,” Astral says.

“Then why did you agree to marry me?” Yuma asks. “How do you know you won’t regret it?”

Astral turns the question around. “How do you know _you_ won’t regret it?”

Yuma grits his teeth. “Well, it seems we have reached an impasse. Neither of us can assure the other that there won’t be regrets.”

“Indeed,” Astral says. “Then perhaps we can say that this is our first disagreement, and how we handle it will tell us if we can be happy together.”

That gives Yuma pause. “Do you want to be happy with me?”

That seems to throw Astral off. “Certainly I don’t want either of us to be miserable.”

Yuma rolls his eyes. “Well like, _duh_ ,” he says, “But are you committed to the idea of marrying me?” he remembers the smile Astral gave Enna earlier. “Do you want a relationship with me, or are you thinking of this like, we’re only married on paper and you’re free to pursue whoever you like? Because that’s not what I signed on for.”

Astral’s eyes widen and his jaw drops. “I would not—I would never—” He sputters. “That’s not who I am.”

Yuma relaxes and laughs. “Good,” he says happily, “We agree on that.”

Astral looks dumbfounded. “I didn’t expect a question such as that.”

“You didn’t?” Yuma asks.

“Is it a legitimate worry on Barian world?” Astral asks.

Yuma shrugs. “Maybe I’ve just read too many fictional books about arranged marriages. I was worried that all such marriages end in unhappiness and infidelity.”

Astral shakes his head. “Well, that’s not what I want for us.”

Yuma inches his hand towards Astral’s. “Then do you think we can be friends? Do you think it’s possible that we might actually love each other one day?”

Astral looks sheepish. “I confess, I don’t have many friends. Most people find me…hard to understand.”

“How so?” Yuma asks.

“Well…it has to do with my service to Eliphas,” Astral says. “People say that I am too responsible, and too stiff…that I don’t know how to have fun.”

Yuma gasps. “That’s incredibly rude.”

Astral rubs the back of his neck. “Part of me wonders if they’re right, though. It’s true, I didn’t have many opportunities for making friends when I was young. While others my age played, I studied, and I was actively discouraged from growing too attached to people who weren’t in my line of service. So while I do hope that we can be friends…I’m not sure how to go about it.”

That is so sad for Yuma to hear. “Well, I think we’re starting off pretty well.”

“We have had nothing but misunderstandings as far as I can tell,” Astral says, looking confused.

Yuma waves his hand, “Yeah, but all friends have those. And neither of us has started throwing punches yet so that’s a good thing! When I first met Kite, I tried to hug him and he tried to push me away, and I ended up smacking him across the face and he punched me in the gut. It was terrible, but we get along just fine, now!”

Astral gapes. “I can’t believe you said that with a smile on your face.”

Yuma laughs. “Okay, so tell me how you met your closest friend.”

Yuma looks over to where Kite and Enna are. “I guess Enna is my best friend. We met when I was very young, she is several years older than I am. She was training to be a priestess, and I had hidden from Eliphas in the temple she served in. She found me and stayed with me until we were discovered.”

Yuma feels bad for being jealous of Enna earlier. The way Astral talks about her, Yuma realizes that Enna is probably to Astral what Akari is to him. “So, is she like your sister?” Yuma asks.

“Well, I’ve never had a sister,” Astral says, “Can a sister be a friend?”

“Of course!” Yuma cries, “Siblings are the best friends in the world! I mean they’re terrible because they know all your embarrassing secrets, and they spill them in public, and they make fun of you, and they eat your favorite foods…where was I going with this? Oh right, but even with all that, they also know how to cheer you up when you feel sad, and they’ll kick the ass of anyone who hurts you, and no matter what they’re always there for you.”

Astral looks thoughtful. “It’s funny you should say that, because that sounds a lot like what married couples do, too.”

Yuma thinks about that. “Well, sure, but then with marriage there’s kissing and stuff.” Then he blushes and looks at the ground.

“Kissing and stuff,” Astral echoes.

“Well, yeah,” Yuma says, trying to think of something to say. He hears footsteps and turns around. Enna and Kite are approaching. He gets to his feet and Astral follows suit.

“We’ve received a message from Nash and Eliphas,” Kite says, “They want us back in the restaurant.”

Yuma feels a flash of annoyance. “Fine,” he grumbles.

“What’s wrong?” Astral asks.

Yuma shrugs. “Just, it seems unfair of them to order us back when we barely spent any time alone. We barely started getting to know each other.”

Astral nods. “Yes, I suppose that is unfair.”

“So tell that to them,” Kite says.

Yuma resolves to do just that. When they get back to the private room in the restaurant, he’s about ready to give Nash a real peace of his mind, but when they open the door and walk in, everyone is standing.

“Then we will continue tomorrow,” Nash is saying as Yuma walks in.

Yuma stops dead. “Tomorrow?” He echoes.

Nash nods. “The meeting is done for the day, tomorrow we will discuss—”

“Wait a second,” Yuma interrupts, “Maybe your meeting was done, but Astral and I were kind of in the middle of something.”

Eliphas frowns. “Surely it’s nothing that can’t wait until tomorrow.”

Yuma looks at Astral. Astral looks a bit lost, but he doesn’t disagree with anything Yuma has said, so Yuma continues. “It could wait, but seeing as how we only have twenty nine days until we get married, unless it’s vital that Astral and I be elsewhere, I don’t see why we can’t continue to talk.”

Astral nods. “I agree with Yuma.”

But Eliphas’ frown only grows. “As it happens, I do have business with Astral.”

That seems to come as news to Astral, who looks surprised. “What—?”

“Come along,” Eliphas says, “You will see Yuma again tomorrow.”

Eliphas makes to leave, and Astral looks at Yuma hopelessly. “I’m sorry,” he says quietly.

Without thinking, Yuma steps closer and hugs Astral. Astral jumps as though startled, but he returns the hug.

“I look forward to seeing you again,” Yuma says.

“And I to seeing you,” Astral says. “I was glad to meet you today.”

Eliphas clears his throat, and Astral backs away, his slow movements showing his reluctance. When Astral does follow Eliphas out of the room, Yuma grits his teeth and huffs in frustration.

“Yuma, are you okay?” Akari asks.

“The heck is Eliphas’ problem?” Yuma fumes. He whirls around to glare at Nash. “And you! Why didn’t you stop him from making Astral leave?”

Nash sighs. “I’m sorry, but it really wasn’t my place, he said he had business to attend to with Astral—”

“Which he clearly made up!” Yuma says. “Astral knew nothing about it!”

“Never mind that,” Marin interrupts, “You’ll see him soon. Tell us, what did you think of Astral?”

Yuma forces himself to calm down. “We…I think we both want the same thing,” Yuma says. “He’s nice, and he’s respectful of me.”

Kite says, “It sounded to me like you were fighting.”

Yuma scowls at Kite. “I thought you weren’t going to eavesdrop?”

Kite shrugs. “I could only hear the tone of your voices.”

“Well, we didn’t fight!” Yuma says petulantly. “We had discussions, we misunderstood each other, and we moved passed it. Like I said to Astral, all friends go through stuff like that. And it’s better it happens now since, as I said to Eliphas, we are getting married in less than a month.”

Akari lays her hand on Yuma’s arm. “I know you didn’t have a lot of time with him, but do you think he’ll make you happy?”

Yuma pauses a moment. In the last few minutes of their meeting, they seemed to be moving to a good place, and they hugged, and Astral really did seem like he didn’t want to go. Surely, all of that is a good sign? “I think so,” Yuma says, going for optimism.

Akari grins. “Good, then that’s what was really important about today.” She puts her arm around Yuma’s shoulder and whispers, “Don’t worry baby bro, I can tell that Marin’s got a plan. This isn’t the end of the day for you and Astral.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title inspired by a line from Romeo and Juliet Act 1, prologue


	3. What light through yonder window breaks? (HOLY SHIT IT’S ASTRAL)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IPN=interplanetary network, the alien equivalent of the interwebs
> 
> Title taken from a line in Romeo and Juliet, Act 2 scene 2

The Barians check into their hotel—not the same one the Astrals were staying in, most unfortunate since that would have solved nearly all of Yuma’s problems. They have four rooms, Nash and Marin share, and Kite, Yuma, and Akari all get their own. Nash tells Yuma to go relax for a while, he’ll come and give Yuma a run-down on what happened at the meeting in an hour. Akari and Kite follow Yuma to his room, Yuma knows why Akari is following him, but he’s not sure about Kite.

Yuma bangs his way into the room, flops down on his bed, and groans. “I don’t even have a contact for him. I’m such an idiot, I can’t believe I forgot to ask.”

Kite pats Yuma’s leg. “Lucky for you, I got Enna’s.”

Yuma sits up and glares at Kite. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

Kite shrugs. “Because you would have wanted to contact him right away and I’m not sure how Eliphas would react to that.”

Yuma’s lip curls. “What’s his problem?”

Akari sits beside Yuma. “I think he was slightly offended that you’re human.”

Yuma slams his fist on the mattress. “I knew it! Jeez, I’ve only lived there for almost fifteen years!”

“Does Astral care?” Akari asks.

“No! I mean,” Yuma pauses, “I guess he cares, you know? But not in that he’s offended.”

“Very eloquent,” Kite says dryly. Yuma sticks his tongue out at him.

“Anyway,” Akari says, “If Astral is okay with is, I’m sure Eliphas will come around. I think he was mollified when I told him about how close you are to Nash and Marin.”

“Like that makes me more of a Barian,” Yuma says glumly.

“Enough with the pity-party,” Kite says, “Come on now, this is not the attitude of someone who just met their fiancé.”

“And had that meeting cut tragically short,” Yuma whines. “I think I can have a pity-party if I want to.”

“It was sweet of you to hug him,” Akari says, “You two are cute together.”

Yuma didn’t even really have a chance to enjoy the hug. He can’t remember what Astral’s skin felt like, or how warm he was, or any of that other intimate stuff that’s supposed to happen when one hugs someone they care about.

“He said he doesn’t have many friends,” Yuma tells Akari, “We were just starting to be friends. Like we got a bunch of misunderstandings out of the way and we could move on to the fun part, but then—” Yuma stops when he hears a knock on the door. “Who is it?”

“It’s me,” Marin calls.

Kite opens the door. Marin is alone, which is odd.

“Nash said he would give me an hour,” Yuma says.

“Idiot,” Akari sighs, “She’s here to help you hook up with Astral.”

Yuma sits up. “You are?!”

Marin nods, “Yes, yes, I am fabulous like that.” She holds her hand out to Kite. “May I see that contact number you got?”

Kite hands over his communicator and Marin copies the number into her own device. “I’ll tell Enna to have Astral call this number as soon as he’s alone. Just know that it might take a while. And if Astral calls while Nash is here, I can’t let you talk to him. Though I’m sure Nash would be on board with the whole thing, the less he knows about this the better off we will all be.”

Yuma pouts but agrees to the terms. “What are you going to tell Astral if that happens?”

“Where you’re staying,” Marin says, “I figure it’ll be easier for him to sneak out and see you than it will be for you to sneak into his hotel.” She hands Kite’s communicator back to him. “Now I have to go, Nash thinks I’m getting us something to eat.”

“Shouldn’t you be calling room service for that?” Akari asks.

Marin rolls her eyes. “I never said I was a good liar.” And she leaves.

Akari turns back to Yuma. “Okay, now gush with me.”

“And that’s my cue to leave,” Kite says, making a beeline for the door.

“Come on,” Akari whines, ignoring Kite’s departure, “Tell me more. It’s not every day my baby brother goes on a date, and that’s how I’m choosing to treat this arrangement, it’s about the only way I’m going to keep myself together.”

Yuma sits up and gives his sister a hug. “I’m very grateful to you for that,” he says as he leans back. “And I have to say, I think I made Astral pretty confused, but he’s kind of cute when he’s confused.”

Akari makes Yuma go over every detail of his private meeting with Astral. It takes up most of their remaining time before the debriefing, and by the end of it she seems even more accepting.

“From what you’re telling me, Astral seems like an okay guy,” She says. “Obviously if this meeting tonight is a success, I want to know everything about it. I want to make sure you’re marrying someone who will be good to you.”

And Yuma loves that about his sister—they may not always agree, they may fight, but they have each other’s backs. Which makes him think…

“Akari?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you ever want to get married?”

Akari looks off into the distance. She’s quiet for a minute, then she says, “I’m not sure. You know I’ve been studying diplomacy, and I still want to do something with that, be an ambassador between Barian world and Earth, like mom and dad were. But I think I’ll wait to really start that until after you’re settled into your marriage, and I know you’re being treated well. I would never forgive myself if I left before I knew that you were alright.” She shakes her head. “I guess we never really talked about our futures, did we? And that’s kind of funny to me, because when I imagined myself as an ambassador, I just always pictured you being there with me.”

Yuma looks down. He knows that once Akari starts the real training to become an ambassador she’ll have to spend two years living on Earth before she can be considered for promotion to a full-fledged ambassador. During that time, it will be hard for her to leave for an extended period of time. She’ll have reports to write and classes to attend. If Yuma had gone with her, it would have been like she was working, and in the evening she would come home and they would have dinner, watch TV, do the things they did on Barian world. But now that Yuma is married, it’s more likely that he’ll have to travel to see her, and he probably won’t be able to stay very long. As an ambassador himself, one of peace between Barian world and Astral world, Yuma is going to have to assume his own responsibilities.

Maybe what Akari has been saying is true, and when Yuma is married they really will lose something in their relationship.

There’s a knock on the door and it jolts Yuma from his thoughts. “Come in,” he calls.

Nash, Marin, and Kite enter. Marin immediately reads the situation and looks concerned.

“Are you two okay?” She asks.

Yuma clears his throat and shrugs. “We were just talking about…stuff.”

Akari holds Yuma’s hand. “Yeah, but nothing is final,” she reminds Yuma. She’s clearly trying to close the conversation so Nash can start talking about whatever the heck the negotiations of the end of the war mean, but Yuma (despite knowing how important it is), isn’t ready to listen to that.

“Akari,” Yuma says, holding his sister’s hand in both of his, “If it’s your dream to be an ambassador, I don’t want you to throw that away because of me, or my marriage.” Akari looks stunned, and Yuma presses on. “That’s what you meant, isn’t it? That you would reconsider being an ambassador if you felt like you had to be around for my sake.”

Akari takes a deep breath and says, “Well…yes, I suppose I did mean that.”

“I don’t want that,” Yuma tells her. “I mean, if it will make you happy then I won’t stop you, but if you want to be an ambassador and you’re thinking of giving it up for me, then I want you to know right now that you’re an idiot.”

Akari sputters. “I am your _sister_! It’s like, my job to—”

“You’ve been a great sister,” Yuma interrupts. “You are a great sister, and if you have to move to Earth for two years without me I’ll miss you a lot,” he pauses as his voice breaks. “I’ll miss you like hell, but you’ll still be a great sister. And you don’t need to sacrifice your own dreams for me. It’s not your job to protect me all the time.”

Akari grabs Yuma by the neck and puts him in a headlock. “When the heck did you grow up, you little brat?” She asks. She releases Yuma and gives him a proper hug, and Yuma wipes his tears on her shirt.

“Should we come back?” Nash asks.

Akari and Yuma let go of each other and Yuma says, “Actually, I have a question for you. Once I’m married, will I need to be able to come back to Barian world? Not like, for forever, but for visits?”

“Of course!” Marin cries, “Yuma! Being married doesn’t mean you’re expelled from the planet!”

“But you’ll have to go to Astral world too,” Nash says. “You can come back, but if you stay for an extended time, it’s best if you and Astral come together. And you should also go together to Astral world. You’ll live on a moon, but you’ll be expected to go to both planets for various things. In a way, you two will be ambassadors between Astral and Barian world.”

Yuma nods. “And if Akari is on Earth, training to be an ambassador, will Astral and I be able to go see her?”

Nash extends his hand and levitates a chair from the sitting area over to the bed. He positions it in front of Yuma and sits, removing his mask. He takes Yuma’s hand. “As your friend and an Emperor, I promise you this—you will be able to see Akari as long as it doesn’t interfere with your own duties. If there’s a solid month where you and Astral have nothing going on and you want to spend that time with Akari, I will personally punch the lights out of anyone who tries to stop you.”

That makes everyone laugh, because they know Nash means it.

Nash continues, “And there are three perfectly logical reasons why I can make that promise. First of all, once you and Astral are married, he and Akari will be brother and sister, according to the customs of Barian world, Astral world, and Earth. Secondly, I know how important the bond between a brother and sister is, so you will face no opposition from me or Marin on that front. Thirdly, the contract for your marriage has not been negotiated yet. Today was just the political contract, your personal contract between yourself and Astral can include plans for any meetings you want with Akari. You arrange to have days where you will meet with Akari and I will sign off on an order that says nobody can stop you.”

“Really?” Yuma asks. “That can be put in a contract?”

Nash nods. “Neptune Thirteen has a Princess who was politically married to another Princess from Draconis, and she’s especially famous for her contract which stated that on each passing of comet Andris, she would be allowed to spend an entire day alone in a private room and would not be disturbed for anything short of a death in her own family or her wife’s family.”

Yuma gapes. “Why the hell did she put that in her contract?”

Nash laughs. “Well, the comet passed something like every forty days. Basically what she was ensuring was that she would have time to herself if she so desired it. But it was a request that didn’t keep her away from her duties for too long, and though it was a wordy way to ask for some alone time, there was nothing illegal about it.”

Marin pipes up, “Wasn’t there once a prince who made it a part of his contract that he was to always have a servant specifically trained in making his favorite drink?”

“That sounds like something Vector would do,” Akari says.

Marin laughs. “I guess it does! But the point is, there are precedents for specific requests being fulfilled in political marriage contracts. Time with your sister is not the oddest request to be made, so I say if you have a set of days in mind, right them down now so you remember to put it in your contract.”

Yuma takes out his communicator and makes a note of two days—Akari’s birthday, and the anniversary of his parent’s death. “When do Astral and I write the contract?” Yuma asks.

Nash answers, “Probably when we meet again in a week’s time. Tomorrow will be sort of a prelude to that, we’ll be discussing what kinds of duties each side expects from the pair of you as ambassadors. Now get ready to take notes on what we discussed today, you’re meant to know what this peace treaty entails.”

Yuma is so busy taking notes, he genuinely doesn’t notice when Marin slips out of the room to take a call.

 

Yuma is going over his notes for what he wants his marriage contract to include when there’s a knock on his door. Akari said she was going shopping an hour ago, and he knows it’s not Kite, so it could only be Nash or Marin. Yuma answers the door and finds that it’s Marin.

“What’s up?” Yuma asks, stepping back to let her in.

“I was wondering how you were holding up,” Marin says. She takes off her mask as she walks in. “How’s the contract writing going?”

Yuma shrugs. “Some things I’m just not sure if I’ll need to include. Maybe Astral and I will come to an understanding without needing to make it clear in writing.”

Marin nods. “That’s true, but it’s not just Astral you need to think about, it’s all the outside forces involved in this marriage—Eliphas, the other Emperors, the _future_ Emperors. Don’t forget, Nash and I won’t always be in charge.”

Yuma groans and tugs at his hair—he did actually forget about that for a minute. “Damn, marriage is a lot harder than I thought it would be.” He sits on his bed and looks up at Marin. “Hey, do you ever think about getting married?”

Marin sits in the chair that her brother had occupied earlier (Yuma was too lazy to put it back). “I do, and I generally come to the conclusion that I can’t see it happening.”

Yuma leans his head in his hands. “I don’t even know what it’s like to be in love.”

“Well, I hope you get the chance to discover that with Astral,” Marin says. “By the way, he’s on his way over.”

Yuma sits up. “WHAT?!”

Marin giggles. “Did you forget my plan to hook you up?”

“I DID!” Yuma cries.

Marin gets to her feet. “Well then, I’ll leave you to get ready.”

“You could have told me this when you walked in!” Yuma tells her as she flees the room, laughing hysterically. Yuma has already changed into his pajamas, and he rushes to put something else on. He goes to the washroom and brushes his teeth and fixes his hair, then he goes back to the main room to wait. He sits on his bed, fiddling with his communicator. After a few minutes he notices an odd glow outside of his window.

“What the heck?” Yuma wonders. He goes to the window and pulls back the curtain, and he yelps and jumps back. “ASTRAL!”

Astral grins, his fingers pressed to the glass. “Can I come in?”

Yuma slides the window open, and Astral floats in. He’s still in the robe he wore earlier, and he carries a small shoulder bag made of an airy cloth.

“I’ve never done anything like this before,” Astral says as he lands gently, his feet making no noise on the floor. “Sneaking out, floating up to someone’s window…”

“I’m like, six stories up!” Yuma says. “I didn’t know you could…you know, fly that high!”

Astral grins. “I’m full of surprises.”

“Apparently,” Yuma says.

Astral looks around. “You’re staying alone?” At Yuma’s nod he says, “I was told that your sister was very protective of you during your absence at the meeting, I thought she would be staying with you.”

“She is protective,” Yuma says, “But she knows that I need space. And she knew that you were coming, she wanted to give us time to be alone.”

Astral smiles. “She seems like a very good sister.”

Yuma sits on his bed. “Sometimes I think she acts more like a mom than a sister.” He hesitates. He’s never talked about this with anyone before, but if he’s going to share it, maybe it’s a good idea to tell his future spouse about his feelings. “I feel like she thinks she needs to be both, my sister and my mom. I don’t want to hurt her, so I let her, but…I wish she would just be my sister.”

Astral puts his bag on the floor and sits beside Yuma, one leg pulled up to his chest. “Your parents died when you were very young. If it’s not too forward of me to ask, what do you remember of them?”

“Kattobingu,” Yuma answers. “My dad used to say it all the time.”

“What does that mean?”

Yuma grins. “It means never give up, keep pushing on, and reach for the stars in everything you do. It’s a really powerful word, and it’s my motto.”

Astral looks impressed. “Eliphas told me he met your father once. That word sums up what I’ve been told about him. He was a good man. And I’ve heard similar things about your mother.”

“Mom was always up for adventure,” Yuma says. “And she always thought of my friends as her own family. Even back when I wasn’t so close to Nash and Marin, she was always giving me snacks to share with them, or telling me to invite them over. She had a really big heart.”

“A quality you seem to share with her,” Astral says quietly.

Yuma blushes. “So I’ve been told. What about you, what are your parents like?”

Astral looks sad. “They…well, they’re good people. I wasn’t raised by them, actually. Since I was a baby, I’ve been raised by Eliphas and his advisors.”

Yuma gapes at him. “You…what?! How come?”

Astral looks towards the window, his face taking on a somber expression. “When we’re born, our souls are weighed against a drop of water taken from our sacred ocean. If a soul is lighter than the water, it’s considered untainted by chaotic forces. Those people are the ones who are chosen for the positions in government. I’ve met my parents, but only a few times.”

Yuma is horrified. “Then…did you…” he flounders for a way to ask Astral if he knows what a family is. He can’t think of one.

“I’m quite envious of you,” Astral admits. “I feel terrible about it, since your parents…well, I just wish I could have known them. They seem wonderful.”

Yuma closes his eyes and thinks hard. What to say in this situation? “Well, since we’re getting married…they may be gone, but they’re still my family, and when we’re married, they’ll be your family too.” Now he’s getting an idea. He opens his eyes and takes Astral’s hand. “And I still have Akari, and so will you. She’ll be your sister by marriage, and you can call her your sister, she won’t mind. And you know what else? We’re family now. We’ve gotta remember that.” Yuma gets to his feet—he’s really getting into this now. “Even if we have an unconventional start, we have to learn to depend on each other. We’re partners from now on.”

Astral looks shocked. “That’s…you’re a very talented speaker, Yuma.”

“Am I?” Yuma asks. “I didn’t plan that, it just came to me.” Then he’s hit with an idea. “And you know what else just came to me? We can sit in this room and ask questions all night, but that’s not much fun. We should go somewhere fun, we should go to the port and…and find something fun to do. That’s how we’ll get close, by having fun. It’s always worked for me in the past.” He holds his hand out towards Astral. “What do you say?”

Astral looks conflicted, “I’m already breaking so many rules by being here. If Eliphas finds out…” Suddenly he shakes his head. “No, I don’t care. We’re getting married, Eliphas can’t tell me what I can and can’t do with my husband-to-be.” He scoops his bag from the floor, takes Yuma’s hand, and stands up.

Yuma smiles. “On earth, we call spouses-to-be our fiancée.”

“Fiancée,” Astral repeats, “I like the sound of that.”

“Well then, fiancée, let’s go have fun,” Yuma says, leading the way to the door.

 

They walk hand-in-hand around the port. At night, the docks become a makeshift market, with collapsible, rickety stalls laden with wares and produce from across the galaxy. Some of it has just arrived, some of it needs to be sold before a ship departs. Some of it has shifty origins, some things are handmade by the vendors. And every few meters there is a food cart that has a 50-50 chance of being amazing or giving consumers some kind of horrible digestive disease. The docks are swarming with late night shoppers of all kinds.

Yuma and Astral go to a food cart that offers sweets from Nebula 76, a place known for its crystal-like candies. Neither of them have a lot of money, certainly not enough for the next stand, which claims to be selling comet-harvested diamonds. It’s a very shady cart, and the two of them rush past it. A few stands down, a many-armed deep space being (whose many-arms drip some kind of gelatinous fluid) has a stand full of graphic novels, including the latest edition of Yuma’s favorite super hero comic. The being wears gloves on two arms, Yuma puts money in one of the gloves, and the being hands over the comic with a watery burble that Yuma assumes is a polite well-wish.

Yuma explains the comic’s plot to Astral as they move on, but Astral doesn’t seem to get it.

“Esper Robin was ordered to kill his own mother?”

“He didn’t know she was his mother, he hadn’t seen her in years.”

“Then how did he know she was his mother? And how did she become evil?”

“He had a picture of her, and she was possessed by the evil ghost after she left Robin at the monastery.”

“Then why doesn’t he just explain that to his superiors? Why must he flee imprisonment?”

Yuma shrugs, flipping through the book. “They jumped to conclusions and didn’t let him explain. It looks like in this issue his friend Kotori finds them and Robin convinces her that the Galaxy Queen isn’t evil anymore.”

“What happens when the Galaxy Queen’s name is cleared?” Astral asks.

“I’m not sure,” Yuma says, “It looks like that won’t happen in this issue. Maybe the next one.”

“You don’t know when it will happen?” Astral exclaims.

“Well, no,” Yuma says, “That’s the point of comics—they take forever to finish, this is the forty first issue, some comics can go into the hundreds.”

Astral looks astounded. “And you’ll buy all of them?”

“They aren’t that expensive,” Yuma says, “And I only buy all of Esper Robin’s issues, most of the others I read on the IPN.” He gasps and says, “You should totally borrow my other issues, the story makes a lot more sense if you read it yourself. I’ll send them to you.”

Astral looks amused. “Couldn’t I read them when we move in together?”

“Well yeah,” Yuma says, waving his hand, “But it’ll be so much more fun if we can call each other and talk about them while we’re still preparing for the wedding. Speaking of, what kind of wedding customs do you have on Astral world?”

Astral gets a wistful look. “We wear special robes decorated with hundreds of tiny charms that make the most beautiful sound each time the fabric moves. The sound is said to scare away dark energy and call forth good will. And we wear tiny vials filled with water from the sacred ocean. We keep the vials in our homes and it’s supposed to bring harmony to the household.” He turns to Yuma. “What about customs on Barian world?”

Yuma’s never been part of a Barian wedding, but Marin and Nash have told him about them. “The night before the wedding, the couple’s family members get a piece of Baria crystal. Everyone in the family holds it and thinks of a wish for the couple. Then at the ceremony, the couple exchanges their crystals and thanks their spouses’ family for the well wishes.”

There’s a moment of silence. Then Astral says, “That’s a very beautiful ceremony.”

“Yours is, too,” Yuma says. “Do you think we’ll be able to incorporate both our planet’s customs into the wedding?”

“It’s our wedding, I say we can do what we want,” Astral says, “And I think we should honor both our world’s traditions. Are there any Earth traditions you want to include?”

Yuma shrugs. “I don’t know a whole lot about Earth weddings, but I know that there’s a party after the ceremony with tons of food. And cake.”

“I know there’s plans for a party,” Astral says, “The ceremony will be private, but the party is set to involve dignitaries from all over the Galaxy.”

Yuma sighs, “I’m the last to know everything.”

Astral looks sheepish. “I wasn’t told that specifically, I overheard Eliphas talking to Enna about it.”

That makes Yuma more upset. “Why are they trying to keep us in the dark about our own wedding?”

Astral looks around and leads Yuma to a quieter section of the docks. They stand in a small alley way, out of sight of the market.

Astral answers, “I think that a lot of people consider this wedding a sham. They think it’s being thrown together and there’s no real effort for change going into it. To be honest, I think Eliphas doesn’t want me to…to like you.”

Yuma’s jaw drops. “Why not?”

Astral sighs heavily. “He’s facing a lot of pressure to end the war, but…his heart’s not in it. Yuma…I volunteered to be the envoy for this match. If I hadn’t, I’m not sure Eliphas would have offered anyone. He probably would have said that he couldn’t find a suitable candidate.”

“But Nash told me Eliphas was the one who suggested the wedding!” Yuma cries.

“I know,” Astral says, his expression dark. “I think he was going to say that he tried his best, and wait for Barian world to attack him, so the war could continue. Eliphas used to be my hero, but now I feel like he’s never been the person I thought he was.” Astral rubs a hand over his face. “That’s one reason I volunteered, I want to get away from him. And I really do want to end the war, I don’t want to be part of a government that lets the fighting continue.”

Yuma inhales deeply. “That’s very brave of you,” he says, and he means it, but he’s so angry. “Eliphas is such a jerk. I’m sorry, but I have to say it. He and Vector both don’t want the war to end, what is the matter with them?!”

Astral shrugs. “Maybe someday we’ll find out, but right now everyone thinks we’re children, and worse they think we’re pawns. They’ll never give us a straight answer unless we can prove them otherwise.”

“How do we do that?” Yuma asks.

“By pushing for real change,” Astral says, “And by showing them that even though we didn’t find each other, we’re friends. Or, as you said, we’re family.”

Yuma grins. His anger fades and is replaced with a warm feeling in his chest. There’s a connection between him and Astral—both of them want peace, both of them want to be happy, and they are each willing to fight for both of those things.

Yuma drops the bag with his comic book. He takes a step forward and hugs Astral for the second time that day. This time, he pays attention. Astral feels warm to him, and his skin is soft. Yuma rests his head in the crook of Astral’s neck. Each time he inhales, he smells sunlight—that’s the only way to describe it, it’s the scent of air when the sun shines on it and heats it up. Like a warm summer morning. Astral’s hands rest on Yuma’s shoulders, his fingers at the collar of Yuma’s shirt, just brushing the back of his neck. Astral raises one hand and touches Yuma’s hair, very gently, and Yuma holds back a shiver.

“Astral?”

“Yes, Yuma?”

Yuma leans back and tries to read the look in Astral’s eyes. Is it too soon for him to ask this? But they don’t have much time together before the wedding…

“Can I kiss you?” Yuma asks.

Astral smiles and nods. “Yes, I think I would like that.”

Yuma leans forward and closes his eyes. Their first kiss is the gentlest press of their lips together, testing the waters. Then Astral pushes on the back of Yuma’s neck, drawing him closer. They kiss again, and again, each time becoming more confident. Yuma leans back and licks his lips, and Astral’s eyes lock on his mouth. Astral leans in again, his eyes open, and he bumps his forehead gently against Yuma’s.

“I’ve never done this before,” Astral says.

“Kissing?” Yuma asks.

“I’ve never had anyone I wanted to try it with.”

Yuma bites his lip. “I’ve kissed a few people, mostly on dares.”

Astral looks curious. “What was it like?”

Yuma leans forward and kisses Astral again. When he pulls back, Yuma smiles and says, “Not like this. This is a lot nicer.”

Astral’s cheeks seem to darken.

“Are you blushing?” Yuma asks.

“No,” Astral says, but Yuma can totally tell that he’s lying.

Yuma takes Astral’s hand. “Let’s go somewhere else, okay?”

Astral nods. “Yes, someplace we can be alone.”

They start to walk back to the hotel Yuma is staying at. They hold hands the entire time, and each time they catch each other’s eyes they smile and start to blush. Yuma can’t believe how happy he is, and he’s so thankful for the way things are turning out. It seems he and Astral will truly get along.

But then there’s trouble. As they draw near to the hotel, Astral stops and gasps, “Eliphas.”

Yuma looks over and gulps. Eliphas and Enna are in front of the hotel, and so is Nash. “We could run,” Yuma says quietly.

Eliphas starts to walk towards them.

“We could still run,” Yuma says.

But Astral tightens his grip on Yuma’s hand. “I’m not afraid of him. Are you afraid of Nash?”

Yuma shakes his head, and the two of them begin to walk again.

As he draws near, Eliphas’ scowl becomes evident. Enna and Nash follow them, though neither of them look as upset as Eliphas does.

“Astral, I believe I told you to stay in your room,” Eliphas growls. “And yet I find you out late with this boy. I am disappointed in you.”

Astral glowers and his voice shakes with anger as he fires back, “‘ _This boy_ ’ is my future husband, and you seem quite determined to keep me from him. We have done absolutely nothing wrong, and if anyone ought to be disappointed here it is me. Since we arrived you have consistently disrespected my wishes and granted me no autonomy, despite the fact that I now have authority as an envoy to another planet. Your interference has kept me from doing what it is that you sent me here to do—forge a path of peace with Barian world. If you had allowed me to be with Yuma this afternoon, I would not have been forced to run from you like some kind of delinquent!”

Astral cuts himself off, but Yuma can tell he wants to say more. Yuma brushes his thumb along the back of Astral’s hand, trying to calm him.

“It is as I said,” Enna says, “They just wanted time together.”

“Indeed,” Nash adds, “It seems you are the only one who takes issue with this, Eliphas.”

Eliphas turns to Nash. “You don’t care that your own envoy was out without your knowledge?”

Nash’s eyes narrow over his mask. “Yuma has been a personal friend for many years. I may be his leader but I don’t presume to own him.”

For that, Eliphas has no comeback. “Very well,” he concedes, “I admit I was too hasty in making the pair of you separate this afternoon. However it is late at night and I cannot allow you to continue to be out. Perhaps upon that we can all agree.”

Nash rolls his eyes, but nods. “I have to say Yuma, it is late and you do need to sleep.”

Yuma sighs sadly and turns to Astral. “I guess we have to say goodbye.”

Astral nods. “But I’ll see you tomorrow.”

They hesitate for a moment, then they both lean in. Their kiss is brief, but it’s enough to give all three individuals watching a surprise.

As Astral leaves with Eliphas and Enna, Nash turns to Yuma and says, “I take it the alone time went well.”

Yuma punches Nash in the shoulder. “You shut your face.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO BEGINS THE FLUFF


	4. This bud of love (Yuma and Astral sitting in a tree…)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title inspired by Romeo&Juliet Act 2 scene 2

Yuma and Astral’s second official meeting is very much like the first one. It takes place in the same restaurant, and they are surrounded by people, so they’re not really alone. This meeting is the time for them to draw up their marriage contracts, as well as be lectured about what kinds of duties they’ll have once they are married. It is very tedious, and though Yuma understands the importance of it all, the longer he sits in front of Eliphas and Nash, going over the same things said different way, the more anxiety gnaws at him.

Finally after three straight hours of talk, Yuma stands up and blurts, “I need some air.”

“I do too,” Astral says, also getting to his feet.

“I’ll go with them,” Marin says.

Eliphas looks between the three of them and sighs. “Very well, please don’t be too long.”

The three of them bolt for the exit and don’t stop running until they get to the elevator. Yuma slams his fist into the button for the ground floor and slumps against the back wall of the elevator. Astral stands next to Yuma and pokes his arm.

“Are you alright?”

Marin laughs, “He’s fine. Yuma just hates being cooped up for so long.”

Yuma straightens and laces his fingers with Astral’s. “And I hate being told the same thing over and over.”

Marin turns to Astral. “I believe this is the first time we’ve actually been together in an unformal situation.” She reaches up and removes her mask, a move that surprises both Astral and Yuma. Marin smiles and extends her hand to Astral. “It’s lovely to see how you treat Yuma. I hope the two of you will be happy together.”

Astral takes her hand and composes himself. “I have that same hope.”

The elevator reaches the ground floor and Marin replaces her mask with a sigh. “Do you know about the significance of the masks in our culture?” She asks Astral.

Astral shakes his head. “I know that it’s common practice to wear them in public, and I know removing them isn’t something that’s normally done outside of one’s home.”

Marin nods. “All that is true, but among the ordinary citizens the masks are more of an accessory than a necessity. All Barians receive a mask when they come of age, and it signifies the transition to adulthood. They signify a barrier between one’s self and the rest of the world. We’re a very stoic people, you see, and don’t believe much in showing our expressions. Or at least, the older generation does. Now it’s more common to only wear the masks in formal situations. Unfortunately for those who take on a governmental role, it’s rare that we ever take our masks off outside of our private quarters. Even when we’re in the Emperor’s palace, the leaders rarely remove them.”

Astral looks shocked. “I feel honored that you removed yours in my presence, then.”

Marin sighs again. “Honestly, I feel that there’s too much formality in this situation. Nash is going along with it because in spite of everything, he refuses to let his guard down in front of Eliphas. I personally don’t see what’s wrong in being the first to make a move towards friendship, but maybe things will change at the wedding.” Her eyes narrow like she’s scowling and she says, “I don’t care what my brother says, I’m not masking myself at Yuma’s wedding.”

Yuma is touched by that. “Aw, Marin!”

Marin’s eyes soften and Yuma just knows that she’s smiling. “Well, you are like a little brother to me.”

Astral chuckles. “I can’t help but feel that everyone who knows Yuma adores him.”

“Not Kite,” Yuma says, and Marin swats him.

“Kite loves you, he just has a funny way of showing it. I agree with Astral, you are a much beloved person.”

“Yuma does have a very large family,” Astral says, and there’s a hint of sadness in his voice.

“They’re your family too, now,” Yuma says, putting his arm around Astral’s shoulders. “What’s mine is yours.”

Astral smiles. “I wish I had more to offer you in return.”

Yuma can’t describe the feeling that washes over him in that moment, but whatever it is, it’s fierce and strong and overwhelms him. He leans forward and kisses Astral, and if he weren’t keenly aware of Marin’s eyes on them, he’s not sure he would ever stop kissing Astral. Astral doesn’t question the sudden display of affection, but that feeling stays with Yuma for the rest of the day.

 

When the meeting ends and Yuma and Astral separate for the afternoon, Yuma asks to speak to Akari and Marin in his room.

“The strangest feeling came over me today,” he tells them. “Marin, it was when we were talking about family with Astral.” Yuma explains to Akari, “I was telling him that my family is his family now, and what’s mine is his. He said, ‘I wish I had more to offer you in return.’”

Akari squeals. “That’s so romantic! Oh my gosh, Yuma!”

Yuma puts his hand over his chest. “The strangest feeling came over me when he said that. I was so happy, and yet I was sad, and I wanted to…I just wanted to kiss him.”

“Which you did do,” Marin reminds him.

Yuma blushes. “Well, yes, I did. But it was different. I don’t know how to explain it.”

Akari’s eyes widen. “Yuma…are you in love?”

Yuma’s blush deepens and his entire body heats up. He sits on the edge of his bed. “Isn’t it too soon for that?”

Marin sits next to Yuma and takes his hand. “If you’re in love, then you’re in love. There’s no timeline for these things. Some people have a bond that makes itself known quickly. From what I’ve seen, you seem to have that bond with Astral.”

Yuma falls backwards. “It’s barely been two days.”

“Well, you are engaged to be married,” Akari says, “From the moment you met him, you started looking for things to love in him, whether you realized it or not. But Yuma, you always look for the good in people. This time you just looked for a little more.”

Yuma covers his face with his hands. “Holy crap, I’m in love with him.”

Akari giggles. “Yuma and Astral sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”

Yuma grabs his pillow and tries to throw it at her, but she deflects.

 

Yuma and Astral’s final meeting for this trip takes place in the same restaurant they’ve been meeting at, but this time they are finally alone, not even Akari accompanies them. They’re supposed to be using their time to discuss where they want to live when they get married, but instead they spend most of their time talking about Esper Robin. Yuma has managed to find scanned pages of the first three volumes on the IPN, and he and Astral read them together as they eat. Since Astral’s already had the series spoiled for him thus far, Yuma spends a lot of time explaining the finer points of the series, details that aren’t reviled until later volumes. He loves the look of concentration Astral has when he listens to the story.

“I’m not going to quiz you on this later,” Yuma teases, “There’s no need to be so serious.”

Astral smiles. “I know, but you like this story so much, I want to remember it so we can talk about it when I’ve read more.”

Yuma has another one of those moments where he’s engulfed by that feeling, and all he can do is lean over and kiss Astral. He’s still not sure it’s love, but it’s pretty darn close.

At the end of the night Astral turns to Yuma and says, “We never did figure out where we want to live.”

To which Yuma says, “I’ve always liked Aries just fine, and it already has a lot of memories for us. Do you think we could be happy here?”

“I think we are happy here right now,” Astral says, “And I think that’s an auspicious start to this relationship.”

So they tell Eliphas and Nash that they want to live on Aries.

 

 

“He’s seriously named after his own world?!” Vector asks, practically crying from laughter.

Yuma rolls his eyes. “It’s not that funny.”

Vector snorts and covers his face. “It’s hilarious, oh my god, that’s so lame!”

Yuma groans and rubs his temples. He’s only been home for one day, he just wanted to take a walk through the crystal garden, but Vector decided to follow him and pester him about the wedding.

“So what else is lame about him?” Vector asks, poking Yuma’s shoulder. “Go on, tell me. I heard they don’t wear clothes.”

“You don’t either, half the time,” Yuma says.

“Yeah but I look like I’m wearing armor,” Vector says, “They have a much more human body. Well compared to us Barians anyway. I also heard they evaporate if they spend too much time in the sun.”

“He didn’t evaporate,” Yuma says. “Look, I’m trying to find two pieces of crystal for my wedding, could you either get lost or help me out?”

Vector waves his hand. “What’s the rush? You’ve got a while.”

But Yuma really doesn’t. The next few weeks are booked solid, he’s making public appearances with Astral next week, then over the week after that they’re going to look at places to live on Aries, and the last week will be devoted to moving all of Yuma’s things into his new home, and to planning the ceremony, though those plans are also scattered between the plans for the next two weeks.

“I really don’t have time,” Yuma says, “Getting married takes a lot of work, not that you would know.”

Vector puts his hands over his heart. “I’m hurt, sweet Yuma! Those kinds of words shouldn’t come from your peaceful mouth.”

Before Yuma can respond, he gets a message on his communicator. “Nash needs to see me,” he says with a sigh.

Vector laughs. “Sucks to be you!” He waggles his fingers at Yuma. “Toodles, bride-to-be!”

“Groom!” Yuma yells as he walks off.

Akari meets Yuma in the palace entrance. “I was just coming to get you,” She says. “Do my eyes deceive me, or did I see you with Vector while I was on my way down here?”

“No, I was with him,” Yuma say, “But he just kind of showed up, I didn’t invite him.”

Akari shakes her head. “If it were me, I would’ve sicced Nash on him. I have no patience for Vector.”

Yuma frowns. “Vector isn’t all that bad. He used to be my friend.”

“Yeah, and he turned into a jerk when he got made an Emperor.”

Yuma shrugs. “I can’t help but feel that there’s more to him.”

But Yuma doesn’t have time to dwell on thoughts of Vector. It’s time for him to be measured for his wedding clothes.

“Only twenty five more days of this,” Akari says bracingly, as Yuma submits himself to the tailor’s measuring tape.

When Yuma returns to his room for the evening, he finds two pieces of Baria crystal on his bed. There’s no note to say who put them there, and any other time Yuma would think it was Akari or Marin, but Vector was the one who was with him in the garden.

“I knew he was nothing but a softie,” Yuma laughs as he puts the crystals away.

 

 

Yuma quickly succumbs to the pressures of being put in the spotlight. Two weeks into his engagement, he can’t sleep, he feels like throwing up every time he goes near food, and his mood is in the garbage. He knew when he agreed to the wedding that things would be expected of him, and he thought he could handle it. What he can’t handle is the constant scrutiny. Suddenly his every word is being analyzed and twisted. He can handle speaking in public, but not when he’s jeered at, in person and over the IPN. Everyone tells him not to go online, to just ignore those who can’t say nice things, but Yuma didn’t listen. He thought it wouldn’t be bad, he thought he could take it. He was mistaken. He starts to snap at Akari, Nash, and Marin, and a few times he barely holds his tongue in Astral and Eliphas’ presence. Everything makes Yuma miserable.

“I didn’t sign up for this,” Yuma says mutters as he looks at his own reflection. He and Astral have just finished giving an interview before an interplanetary parliament, and there are reporters waiting for them. Yuma escaped to the bathroom, but he can’t hold them off forever.

The door opens and Astral slips inside. “We have to go,” he whispers, “People are waiting for us.”

Yuma closes his eyes. “I can’t.”

“We have to,” Astral says, “You know the answers you have to give, just say what you need to and we can go.”

“I can’t,” Yuma repeats.

Astral steps closer. “We need to keep this up for just a little while longer. I promise that it’s working, peace is…”

Yuma finally snaps at Astral. “I don’t care,” he snarls, opening his eyes, “I don’t want to be an envoy for peace right now, I want to be your fiancée!”

Astral looks taken aback for a split second. An apology is already halfway out of Yuma’s mouth, but then Astral holds out his arms.

“Do you require a hug?”

Yuma starts to laugh and cry at the same time. He slumps against Astral and blubbers into his shoulder, “I’m so tired. I can’t sleep, it feels like everything I do is wrong, I feel like I’m not helping at all.” His whole body shakes with sobs, and he chokes out, “And I miss you. We haven’t…talked in days…not for fun, you know? To just be together…I need that!”

Astral strokes Yuma’s hair. “I miss you, too. And you’ve done nothing wrong, you’re doing so well, I’m proud of you.”

Yuma clings to Astral like he’s afraid he’ll be ripped away. “I wish I could be more like you,” Yuma sniffles. “You’re so calm in front of them, you seem like you always know what you’re doing. I feel like they respect you more.”

Astral chuckles. “Oh Yuma, I’m nervous, too.”

“Then I wish I could be like you and hide it better,” Yuma says.

Astral nuzzles the side of Yuma’s head. “You’re better at showing joy than I am. I wish I could be as open as you are about the things that make me happy. Sometimes I feel like people see me as…a rock. Emotionless, cold…no one would think of you that way.”

Yuma has already begun to calm down, his sobs subsiding. He says quietly, “I don’t think you’re cold, or emotionless.”

“And I think you’re doing everything right, and you are helping just as much as I am. Sometimes we’re too hard on ourselves for things we can’t control, like other people’s perceptions of us.” Astral leans back and tilts Yuma’s head up. He wipes Yuma’s cheeks and smiles at him. “I think we both need a break. I think after tonight we have a break from public appearances. Do you want to go see our new house?”

Yuma nods. “Yeah, I think that would be fun.” He rubs his eyes. “I’m sorry I unloaded all that on you.”

“Well it’s like you said,” Astral says, “You’re my fiancée, you’re allowed to need me to act as such.”

“But I didn’t mean for it to sound so…accusatory. For that I’m sorry.”

“And I forgive you,” Astral says, “Though I understand that you are very stressed out. Maybe if we go explain the situation to Nash and Eliphas, they’ll allow us to skip the press meeting.”

Yuma manages to smile. “I’m so glad you’re here with me.”

Astral takes Yuma’s hand. “And I’m glad you’re with me.”

When Nash gets a look at Yuma’s tear-stained face and puffy eyes, he gives his permission for him and Astral to skip the press appearance. Eliphas agrees, though reluctantly. Yuma and Astral make a break for it, stealing away to the personal transport vehicle Nash hired for Yuma. Astral gives the driver directions to the house, and they take off.

After the wedding, Yuma and Astral will be living in an apartment in one of Aries’ few residential areas. The place has two floors and is bordered by two other houses on each side. The front windows face the port’s space docking station, the back windows face the waterfront. Yuma has only seen pictures of it, and while the pictures were pretty, the house is absolutely beautiful in person.

The entrance leads right to a living area, and it’s sparsely furnished. Astral, who has seen the house once before, begins pointing things out.

“Nash and Eliphas are both having things brought from our respective planets. This will be a dining area, by the back windows is the cooking area, as you can see, and right in the middle there will be a place for seating and broadcast screens.”

“I want a flat screen TV,” Yuma says.

Astral gives him a blank look. “A what?”

Yuma giggles. “It’s earth technology, my parents brought one to the Emperor’s palace when they first became ambassadors. I know we have projectors and whatever, but I’ve always found watching things on the TV made me remember my roots. It may sound silly but it’s one thing I truly remember about Earth and I’d like having one around.”

Astral smiles. “Then I’m sure it can be arranged.”

They go upstairs and see the bathroom, and Astral tells Yuma that there are two bedrooms. Yuma’s stomach flips.

“Two?”

Astral nods. “I guess there aren’t many options for one. Or maybe they wanted to make sure we had a place for guests, like your sister.”

Yuma turns away from the smaller room. “Will we share a room?”

Astral blushes. “Well, we will be married.”

The larger bedroom has sliding doors. Yuma opens them and walks in. There’s already a bed in place—it’s circular, the base is carved from Baria crystal, and from the ceiling hangs a curtain of flowing fabric that looks almost like water and surrounds the bed.

“Holy crap,” Yuma says.

Astral gasps. “I haven’t seen that yet.”

Yuma walks to the bed, moves the fabric aside, and sits down. The mattress is soft, but not too much so. Yuma flops down on it and sighs. “I can get used to this.” He looks over to Astral. “Come try it out.”

Astral sits beside Yuma, and Yuma grabs his arm and yanks him down. Astral yelps and lands on his back with a huff.

“Comfortable?” Yuma asks.

Astral nods and turns on his side. “This was an unexpected gift. They had to have worked together on it.”

Yuma frowns. “I can’t see Nash giving us a bed, nor Eliphas really, can you?”

Astral chuckles. “I guess not. Perhaps Enna would.”

“Yeah,” Yuma agrees, “I was thinking of Akari, or maybe even Marin. This seems like something the women in our lives put together.”

“But they still collaborated,” Astral says, “And it was because of us.”

Yuma nods. “I guess so. Huh, so our wedding is accomplishing something, even if it is just a bed.”

“Small steps,” Astral says.

Yuma turns towards Astral and takes his hand. “I’m tired. Do you mind if I take a nap?”

“Do you want me to stay?” Astral asks.

Yuma smiles and nods. “Yes, I would like that.”

They end up losing track of time and falling asleep. Around sundown they both wake up and decide to just stay put, since they are both still tired and don’t feel like going back to their respective temporary residences. Without any nightclothes to change in to, they’re forced to make do with what they have. Yuma strips down to his underwear and t-shirt, and Astral takes off his outer robe, revealing a (very) short tunic. Yuma tries not to stare, but Astral notices anyway.

“Questions?” Astral asks, smiling knowingly.

Yuma blushes. “Are you…are those tattoos?”

Astral touches the markings on his arms. “No, they’re…well, I suppose you could say they’re external organs. I absorb energy through them.” He holds out his arm. “You can touch them, it doesn’t hurt me.”

Yuma brushes his fingers gently over the markings. There’s no physical difference between the marks and the rest of Astral’s skin. “What kind of energy do they absorb?”

“Anything from my environment,” Astral says. “If I’m in sunlight, they absorb sunlight. In water, they absorb water. It’s why my people don’t often eat. We can, but we get our energy from our environment, so we don’t need to.”

“But you keep them covered,” Yuma says.

“I don’t always,” Astral says. “The concept of nudity is one not native to my world. We cover ourselves when it’s cold, or for personal reasons, but no one would look twice if I didn’t wear anything. Typically, all I wear are my earrings.”

“Any reason for that?” Yuma asks.

Astral touches the earrings. “They were a gift from my parents, given to me when I was officially declared a future member of the government.”

“That’s so sweet,” Yuma says. He gestures to Astral’s arm. “And…are those gems?”

Astral nods. “Those…well, I’d prefer if you didn’t touch them right now, they’re sensitive.”

Yuma nods and sits on his hands.

Astral chuckles and elaborates, “They’re as much a part of me as my skin is, but every one of us is unique in terms of how many we have and where they are. I have a lot of these gems on my body, and that’s quite rare. When other beings touch them, it allows me to know what that being is feeling. Not in depth, I can’t read their mind, but I know what their primary emotion is. Unfortunately it is a one-way connection, the one touching me wouldn’t be able to sense my emotions.”

Yuma gulps, his stomach doing sudden flips. “That sounds intimate.”

“It is,” Astral says. “And it’s a personal connection I don’t have much experience with. The only person I’ve allowed to touch me like that is Enna. And the only other person will be you, I imagine.”

Yuma’s heart joins his stomach in doing backflips. Yuma places his hand over his chest.

“Are you alright?” Astral asks.

“I think I’m having a heart attack,” Yuma mutters. “You’re killing me.”

Astral frowns. “I have read that such an expression can be a good thing or a bad thing. Is it a good thing in this case?”

“Yes,” Yuma says.

They end up spending a good deal of time kissing after that. But when they do fall asleep again, they do so with their arms around each other. Yuma has only known Astral for a few weeks, but already Astral doesn’t feel like a stranger any more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is the wedding~~~~


	5. An Ever Fixed Mark (What a Beautiful Wedding)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title inspired by a line from Shakespeare's sonnet 116

“I’m leaving tomorrow.”

Yuma has said the words over and over again, but they still feel odd to say. Yuma has just sent a message to Astral, remarking that the next time they see each other will be at the wedding hall. All the preparation, the weeks of being with Astral, watching his belongings being packed and shipped to his new home, none of it seems to register any more. All Yuma can think is that this will be his last night in the place he’s called home for fifteen years, and he’s not ready to leave. He’s been in denial, thinking that he could come back whenever he wanted, but he knows now that he’ll likely return to the palace of the Emperors mostly for business, and maybe a handful of times a year for a social visit.

Yuma stares into the mirror on his wall, brow furrowed in concentration, and says again, “I’m leaving tomorrow.” Maybe he’ll be able to convince himself that it’s real.

There’s a knock on his door and Yuma jumps. “Who is it?”

“The boogeyman!” Akari yells.

Yuma opens the door. Akari holds out her hand, palm up. “I need your crystal.”

Yuma gives her a blank look.

“The one you’ll exchange with Astral on your wedding day? I need to make a wish for you!”

“Oh!” Yuma cries.

“Good gods, you didn’t forget, did you?” Akari asks. “Did you give Astral his crystal?”

“I didn’t! I mean I didn’t forget,” Yuma says, “And I did give Astral his crystal!” Yuma dashes over to his bed and pulls the box out from under his pillow—he slept with the crystal in his hand the previous night—and gives it to his sister. Akari turns the box over, dumping the crystal into her palm.

“Good choice,” She says.

Yuma almost tells her that he didn’t pick it, but then he would have to tell her that he thinks Vector picked it and she’d probably make him go pick another one, and he doesn’t have that kind of time. Akari wraps both of her hands around the crystal and holds it to her chest. She closes her eyes, and she doesn’t move her lips while she makes her wish, but she stays still for a long time.

“That was a long wish,” Yuma says when Akari returns the crystal.

“It was more like a vision,” Akari says, “Of what I hope your future will be like. Now come with me, I have something to show you. And take the crystal.”

Yuma kind of knows what to expect when Akari leads him to the throne room and pushes open the heavy door. He still jumps when the Emperors yell “SURPRISE!” and dump a handful of rice on his head.

“Rice?” Yuma asks.

“Isn’t it a human tradition?” Alit asks.

“After he’s married!” Akari says.

Marin waves her hand. “Oh well, we’re early.” She takes Yuma’s hands and tugs him into the room. “Welcome to your bachelor party!”

The Emperors have taken off their masks for the evening, and they’ve laid out a table full of food, and a pile of brightly wrapped gifts. “When did you all have time for this?” Yuma asks.

“Well, it’s not like we need sleep,” Nash says. “And we wanted to do this for you.”

Yuma thinks he could cry. “I don’t know what to say.”

“That’s okay,” Durbe says, “It’s our turn to talk. Did you bring your crystal?”

Yuma nods and takes it from his pocket. Alit snatches it, and looks it over. “An excellent choice. Well Yuma, we all wrote you letters about how wonderful you are and all our hopes for your future, and we’re going to read them to you now.”

“I wanted to go first!” Marin whines.

“No, you and Nash are last,” Mizael says, “Because you’ve known Yuma the longest and your letters will make him cry the most.”

“Why says I’m going to cry?!” Yuma demands, despite having only just stopped feeling like he could cry.

And he does cry when the Emperors all take turns holding the wedding crystal and reading the letters they wrote for him. Yuma knew Nash and Marin loved him, and he knew the others considered him a dear friend, but he didn’t realize just how much they all valued what he was doing for the planet, and how much they valued him as a person. Gilag, Alit, Mizael, and Durbe all talk about special memories they shared with Yuma, and the life they hope he’ll have with Astral.

Marin starts crying before she even reads her letter, but she makes it through the entire thing without needing to stop. By the time Nash reads his letter, he’s the only one not crying, and he states at the start of the letter that he’s not going to cry because it’s not his style. But when he’s done reading the letter, and gives Yuma a hug, Yuma swears he can see tears brimming in Nash’s eyes.

Once the letters have all been read and everyone’s dried their eyes, Yuma refuses to cry anymore. The rest of the evening is one of happiness, and it’s sure to be a memory Yuma will treasure long after he leaves the palace. Yuma convinces everyone to play games and tell ghost stories, and the Barians even eat with him and Akari.

“I wish we had done this more often,” Marin says.

But as the evening progresses, one person remains absent. Yuma doesn’t say anything about it, but as night falls and everyone prepares to walk Yuma to his room, Yuma sees his chance and takes it.

“I think I want to walk around the palace by myself for a while.”

Akari looks worried. “Are you okay?”

Yuma nods. “I just…I need some time to be alone.”

“Of course,” Nash says, “But don’t stay up too late, you have a long day tomorrow.”

Yuma promises to get some rest, and walks away from the throne room alone. He takes only his wedding crystal—the gifts and letters will be packaged up and sent to his new home. Alone, Yuma makes his way to Vector’s room and knocks on the door.

Vector isn’t wearing his mask when he comes to the door. He looks surprised to see Yuma. “What are you doing here?” He asks.

“You missed my party,” Yuma says.

Vector frowns. “I didn’t see the need to come.”

Yuma holds out his crystal. “I know you left this for me. Did you make a wish?”

Vector snorts. “What would I wish for you?”

Yuma takes Vector’s hand and puts the crystal in it. “Anything at all. Please, you’re the only one who hasn’t.”

Vector rolls his eyes and mutters, “May you have a healthy life.” Then he hands the crystal back, shaking his hand as if he’s been burned. He makes to close the door, but Yuma calls out to him.

“I still think of you as my friend.”

Vector pauses for a minute, then slams the door shut.

 

 

From the time Yuma wakes up, he barely has a moment to think about what’s happening. He dresses in casual clothes, eats the fruit Akari pushes on him, and is swiftly taken to a space ship, bundled in with all the other Barian Emperors. The trip to Aries seems shorter than ever, and the sun is barely rising when they land. Yuma is taken to the wedding hall and straight to a private room, where his wedding clothes are already unpacked and waiting. He and Astral settled on light, airy fabrics. Yuma’s robes are red from the waist up, and as the fabric flows down it fades to a light orange color. Astral’s robes are deep blue up top and fade to white. Both their robes are covered in thin, silver tassels, which make a beautiful chiming sound as the fabric moves—Astral world’s traditions say that the sound wards off evil.

Yuma has only a moment to admire the outfit. Marin and Akari are in charge of getting him ready, and they take the job very seriously. They stop short at standing in the bathroom while Yuma washes up, but they yell at him to make sure he doesn’t have anything in his teeth or under his nails. Then they take water from the Barian ocean and paint spells of protection on Yuma’s face. It dries clear, since it is just water, but it’s an ancient tradition that none of the Barians, or Yuma himself, would dare to skip.

“I’m not wearing makeup,” Yuma says when he sees Akari take out her makeup bag.

“Yuma, the pictures from this wedding are going to be seen across the galaxy,” Akari says. “It’s just to make sure you don’t look washed out.”

Yuma can’t say no to that, so he lets Akari make him look presentable. In the end, it’s really not a lot of makeup, but Yuma’s still afraid to touch his face. When Akari and Marin are satisfied with Yuma’s face, they decide it’s time for him to get dressed. They’re about to help Yuma into the clothes, but he stops them.

“I want to see Astral.”

“Now?” Akari asks.

Yuma nods. “I need to see him before…before I go out there.”

Marin nods. “I’ll take care of it.”

She leaves, and Akari asks, “Do you want to be alone?”

Yuma nods, and when there’s a knock at the door, Akari answers it and lets Astral in, and then she leaves, calling that she’ll be right outside. It’s only been two days since Yuma last saw Astral, but it feels like longer. Astral isn’t dressed yet either, and Yuma can tell that he’s also wearing some kind of makeup.

“My face feels weird,” Yuma blurts.

Astral grins. “You look lovely, if it helps.”

Yuma’s stomach flips. “You do, too. I just wish…I wish it wasn’t so public. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have let Akari near my face.”

Technically the press won’t be at the ceremony, but when Yuma and Astral exit the hall after the ceremony, the press will be waiting with their cameras. It’s enough to make Yuma edgy.

Astral takes Yuma’s hand. “It’s just for a little while. When we get home, we can wash it off.”

‘ _Home._ ’ Yuma squeezes Astral’s hand. “Are you nervous?”

Astral nods. “You?”

“Scared I’ll mess up,” Yuma confesses.

“If it helps, I won’t notice if you do mess anything up,” Astral says. “I’ll be too busy thinking about how amazing you are.”

Yuma feels like he could melt. He wraps his arms around Astral’s shoulders and kisses him, mindful not to mess up either of their faces.

“I have something for you,” Astral says, breaking the kiss. He reaches into the folds of his robes and pulls out a tiny vial of water. “It’s from Astral world’s ocean. You can carry it with your crystal.” He also takes out the crystal that Yuma gave him. “I had everyone I know make wishes for us.”

Yuma retrieves his own crystal and shows it to Astral. “So did I. They made me cry, they were beautiful wishes.”

“Think about that if you get nervous,” Astral says. “About how the wishes made you feel.”

“I’ll try,” Yuma says.

Astral kisses Yuma again, keeping it short. “I’ll see you soon.”

Astral leaves, and Marin and Akari come back in to the room.

“Okay,” Akari says, suddenly sounding choked up. “Time to get you dressed.”

The wedding outfit is gorgeous, and of course, it fits perfectly. Akari helps Yuma with the various buttons and laces that hold it together, and when she’s done she starts to cry.

“Sis, you’ll make me cry, too!” Yuma says.

Akari wipes her eyes. “You look so grown up. You are so grown up.” She laughs through her tears. “When did that happen?”

Yuma hugs her, too overcome to say anything. He doesn’t want to cry, and he knows Akari’s tears are happy ones, so that helps.

“Mom and dad would be so proud of you,” Akari says.

Well, there go Yuma’s attempts to not cry.

Marin hands them tissues. “Come on now Akari, you were just telling me you weren’t going to make Yuma cry.”

“Ugh,” Akari groans, “How could I not cry at my baby brother’s wedding?”

“There won’t be a wedding if we don’t get a move on,” Marin says. “Now I’m going to take pictures of you two, and then we’re going to get this show on the road, got it?”

Akari and Yuma pose for a few pictures—hugging, pretending to punch each other, and holding a photo of their parents. Then Marin leads them both through a hidden hallway that takes them to the side door of the ceremonial room. Yuma can hear music being played and the low murmur of voices. He inhales deeply, gripping his crystal in his left hand and the vial of water in his right. They’re small enough that he could hold them in one hand, but the weight in each of his palms seems to keep him balanced, plus it keeps his hands from shaking.

He and Astral will enter the hall at the same time, through doors on the opposite side of the room, escorted by Akari and Enna. Eliphas and Nash will be at the front and center of the room, and Astral and Yuma will walk to them and receive a red ribbon around their necks. Then a priest, one who serves multiple gods, will say a blessing and ask Yuma and Astral to recite a vow to each other. Then the priest will place a single white ribbon over Yuma and Astral’s heads, signifying their union. It’s a simple ceremony, and it will be quick, but Yuma is still a bundle of nerves over it.

“I have to go,” Marin says, jolting Yuma from his thoughts. “You’ll be brilliant, Yuma.” She hugs him gently, careful not to mess up his outfit. “I’m proud of you, too. We all are.”

When she leaves, Akari leans over to Yuma. “Are you still doing this just for peace?”

Yuma goes over in his mind every moment he’s spent with Astral over the last few weeks. “Not anymore,” he confesses. “I love Astral.”

“Then you’ll be happy,” Akari says.

The music stops, and Yuma hears the priest begin to speak. Yuma feels like he’s not in his own body, and all he can hear is the blood rushing through his body. He registers Nash calling him, and through some force of will manages to walk through the door. Yuma is halfway to where he needs to be before he registers the sight of Astral walking towards him.

Astral is a radiant vision. He’s practically glowing, and his robes only add to the effect. Yuma hears, then, the sounds that the silver charms are making as he and Astral walk. It’s such a lovely sound, and even when he and Astral meet and stop walking, the sound is still there, the charms swaying in a slight breeze that whirls around the room.

Yuma bows as Nash puts the red ribbon over his head, and then he turns to Astral. As the priest speaks, Yuma doesn’t look away, not even when he switches his vial of water to his other hand, and holds his newly-freed hand out for Astral to take. Smiling, Astral takes Yuma’s hand. Yuma can’t believe he was ever worried. He recites his vows to Astral, and Astral recites his own to Yuma, and then the priest laces the white ribbon around their necks, and declares them to be married.

“You know,” Yuma says, “On earth it’s tradition for newly-wed couples to kiss.”

Astral grins. “Is that so?”

“Well then don’t just stand there!” Akari yells, “Kiss him!”

Yuma’s not sure which of them she’s talking to, but he and Astral take her advice.

 

The party is in full swing by the time Astral and Yuma arrive.

“They started without the guests of honor,” Yuma says crossly. He and Astral were delayed by the press, not that they said much—Eliphas and Nash did most of the talking, and everyone else went ahead to the party.

“I think it’s almost better that way,” Astral says, “Now we won’t have to worry about them staring.”

A booming voice yells, “Make way for the new couple!”

Astral looks sheepish. “Right, forget I said that.”

There are hundreds of guests, and they all applaud as Yuma and Astral enter the room. And then they all want to give their congratulations. Just when Yuma thinks they’re done, another person shows up, wanting to talk for a few minutes. Marin manages to get Astral and Yuma to a table and give them some food and water, but it’s only a short rest before they’re found again by more people.

“How many dignitaries got invited to this party?” Yuma asks. It’s been four hours, he’s exhausted, and he can tell that Astral is, too.

“You look dead on your feet,” Yuma hears from a familiar voice. He turns around, about to shout at Kite for sneaking up on him, but Kite holds a finger to his lips. “Come with me.”

Yuma and Astral follow Kite to the back of the room and through a door to the kitchen. They weave through the cooks and service crew, Yuma and Astral pausing to thank them, and then they continue through the building until they get to a small dressing room, where Akari and Enna are waiting.

“It’s time for you to go home,” Kite says, ushering Yuma and Astral into the room. “I’ll be driving you and making sure you’re not followed.”

“We have clothes for you,” Akari says, “Leave your wedding outfits here, we’ll make sure you get them.”

“We’re leaving?” Yuma asks. “Already?”

Enna answers, “You’ve done all you can, all we can ask of you. Now it’s time for you to go home and start your lives together.”

Akari presses her hand to her mouth, and Yuma knows she’s about to cry again.

“You stop that,” Yuma says, and then Enna begins to cry.

Astral sputters, “Enna, what is happening?” He hugs her. “I’m not disappearing, you know.”

“I’ll miss seeing you every day,” Enna says. “But I know you’re going to be happy.”

Akari sobs, and Yuma hugs her, tears spilling down over his own cheeks. “Sis, I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Yuma,” Akari says. She leans back and pats Yuma’s cheek. “Call me soon, okay?”

When they’re alone, Astral rubs his eyes. “Goodbyes are always hard,” he says, his voice breaking. “But it’s not forever.”

“That’s right,” Yuma says. “And now we finally get to be together without anyone hovering over us.”

Astral smiles. “Yes, that will be wonderful.”

They help each other undo the laces on their robes, and then they change into the more comfortable clothing given to them by their sisters. Yuma wears a t-shirt and sweat pants, and Astral wears a long, white tunic. When they’re done they take only their crystals and the vials of water, and they leave the room and follow Kite outside. It’s quiet, and Yuma is a bit in shock that no one is waiting to take pictures of them, or try to stop them from leaving.

“Are you going to miss being my escort?” Yuma asks as Kite drives off.

Kite snorts. “Your glorified chauffer? No way.” He hesitates and says gruffly, “But I will miss you, Yuma.”

“You’ll just have to come and visit, then,” Yuma says.

“Not any time soon,” Kite laughs, “I’m sure you’re both anxious for some privacy.”

Yuma takes Astral’s hand and leans against his shoulder.

“That we are,” Astral agrees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is almost entirely keyship sex. I hope u r ready for it.


	6. The more I give to thee, the more I have

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title inspired by a quite from R&J act 2 scene 2
> 
> THIS IS THE KEYSHIP SEX CHAPTER.

Kite leaves Yuma and Astral in front of their house. Neither of them have been to it since that day they accidentally fell asleep and stayed for the night. They enter their home hand-in-hand, side by side. It hasn’t changed much, except that it’s a little more organized, and the TV Yuma requested has been installed. It doesn’t feel like home just yet, though. Yuma can feel the vial of water and the crystal weighing down his pockets, and he tugs Astral to the living area and sets his crystal and water down on the decorative table.

“We’ll have to find a better place to display them,” Astral says, placing his water and crystal beside Yuma’s.

Yuma nods, leaning against Astral’s willowy frame. “Tomorrow. Or the next day.” Those kinds of personal touches will make the house feel more like their own place, but right now Yuma is too tired to think much of it.

Astral chuckles and kisses Yuma’s forehead. “Are you tired?”

“Very,” Yuma says.

Astral leads Yuma up the stairs, into the bathroom. Yuma has enough energy to wash his face, and brush his teeth, and to stare at Astral the entire time he does so. Astral doesn’t seem to mind, going about his own cleansing routine. Once they’re both done, they make their way to the bedroom. That’s when Yuma’s mind catches up to him, and he gasps.

“Oh, god.”

Astral looks at him in shock, halfway undressed. “What’s wrong?”

Yuma’s whole body feels like it’s on fire. “It’s…it’s our wedding night.”

He vaguely remembers Alit mentioning it, sometime last week, and Yuma had blushed and stammered, and then promptly forgotten about it. Now, the implications are laid before him, and he can’t believe he forgot about this part.

Astral catches Yuma’s meaning. “Oh, yes…I read about that.”

“You did?” Yuma asks. “Is it…I mean, not all weddings on Barian world are for…you know…l-lovers…I can’t believe we didn’t talk about this sooner!”

Astral looks sheepish. “I…when I read about wedding nights I also read about…human bodies.”

Yuma looks at his feet. “And I did some reading, too, about…you, and your people.”

The words hang between them.

“We don’t have to do anything except sleep,” Astral says. “I know you were tired.”

“I was,” Yuma says. “I don’t think I can sleep now.”

Astral, seemingly tired of holding his tunic up, lets it fall.

Yuma has seen Astral unclothed before, but it seems different now. He eyes the gems that dot Astral’s body and thinks about what he read. “I read a diary, written by a couple who were like us. Human and Astral.”

Astral smiles. “I read that, too. In addition to other things.”

Yuma inhales deeply, but it feels like the oxygen is getting cut off before it can get to his head. Why else would he feel so dizzy and warm?

Astral steps closer and places the very tips of his fingers on Yuma’s cheek. “You’re so warm.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” Yuma mumbles.

“Are you alright?”

Yuma nods. “I think this is normal. Getting all light-headed when you think about someone you love. When you think about intimacy with them.”

Astral moves even closer, so close that Yuma feels their toes touch. Astral leans his forehead against Yuma’s, his eyes closed. “Can I feel it?”

Yuma’s stomach does backflips. “You want me to touch your gems?”

Astral nods, his hair tickling Yuma’s forehead as he moves. He takes Yuma’s hand and lets it hover over the gem on the side of his neck. “If you’re comfortable with it,” Astral says, his voice soft and breathy.

Yuma closes his eyes and lowers his hand. The gem is smooth, and cool to the touch, but it warms under Yuma’s palm. Yuma pictures Astral a few moments ago, half undressed, his eyes wide as he looked at Yuma. Yuma’s stomach flips again and his body heats up, and against him, Astral shivers.

“What are you thinking about?” Astral asks.

Yuma keeps his eyes closed as he answers. “You, how you looked when I finally realized what tonight was for us.”

Astral lets out a sound, an exhale that ends in a moan. The sound goes through Yuma like a bolt of lightning, and with his hand still on Astral’s gem, Astral feels it, too. Astral kisses Yuma, open-mouthed, his breath like fire on Yuma’s lips. Yuma keeps one hand firmly on Astral’s neck, over the gem, and he tangles the other in Astral’s beautiful, soft hair, dragging him even closer. Whatever Yuma had imagined about intimacy with Astral, nothing compares to the reality, and they’ve barely begun to delve into the physical aspect of their relationship. The idea that Astral can feel everything Yuma feels in this moment...Yuma doesn’t know if he’ll ever have a word for it. Yuma pulls back from Astral’s mouth, chest heaving as he gulps in air. He opens his eyes, and gets a look at the way Astral is eyeing him.

“What?” Yuma asks.

Astral runs his fingers over Yuma’s t-shirt. “Are you willing to undress?”

Yuma nods. He slowly lowers his hand from Astral’s neck, dragging his fingers over the gem, before taking hold of his shirt collar. He pulls it over his head and throws it in aside, and before he can even reach for his pants, Astral is in his space again, his fingers dancing lightly over Yuma’s chest. He touches a small scar on Yuma’s sternum.

“What happened?” Astral asks.

“I needed surgery, when I was a baby. I was born too soon.”

Astral looks astounded. “I didn’t know.”

Yuma runs his fingers through Astral’s hair. “Well, I’m healthy now. The doctors fixed me up.”

“Thank the gods for that,” Astral says quietly.

Yuma doesn’t think twice before placing his palm once more over Astral’s gem, so Astral can feel the utter joy Yuma feels at those words.

Somehow, Yuma ends up on the bed, on his back, with Astral’s head pressed against his chest.

“What are you doing?” Yuma asks with a laugh.

“Listening to your heart,” Astral says. “It’s beating quite fast.”

Yuma laughs again. “Well, yeah, you’ve gotten me all worked up.”

Astral’s hands land on Yuma’s stomach and Yuma arches into the touch, moaning low in his throat. His hand trembles on Astral’s neck.

“You’re enjoying this,” Astral murmurs. Half question, half statement.

“Are you?” Yuma asks, looking down at Astral.

The bedroom is dimly lit, but Yuma can see enough to know that Astral is smiling. “I am. And I take it you’re not so tired anymore?”

“Not at all.”

Astral sits up and straddles Yuma’s thighs. “Good,” he says. Yuma’s hand, having fallen off Astral’s neck, lands on Astral’s knee. Astral takes it and moves it to his hip, over another gem. “Yuma, when I said that I read about humans, about the human body, I read about sex.” He closes his eyes, smirking. “Oh. I felt that, Yuma.”

Yuma blushes.

“Is that what you want?” Astral asks. “Do you want us to have sex?”

Yuma eyes Astral’s body. “I…I do, but…well, there’s more than one way to go about this, Astral. I’m just not sure where to start.”

Astral looks positively hungry. “Perhaps you should start by disrobing fully.”

“You’ll have to get off of me for that,” Yuma says.

“Do I?” Astral asks.

Yuma shakes his head, pushing the waistband of his pants down. “You’re impossible.”

“Am not,” Astral says, lifting himself up and helping Yuma get his pants down far enough so Yuma can kick them off.

Astral lays on top of Yuma, their bodies aligned, skin to skin, hip to hip. Astral lowers his head and kisses Yuma again, slowly, sucking gently on Yuma’s lip.

“What exactly did you read?” Yuma asks against Astral’s lips.

“I forget what it was all called,” Astral answers, implying that he read more than one thing, and Yuma makes a note to ask more about it later.

Yuma shifts, and he feels Astral’s fingers skating up his inner thigh. Yuma lets his legs fall open, lets Astral touch, and look, and he keeps one shaking hand over the gem on Astral’s hip, so Astral know just how much he’s enjoying it. And he does enjoy it. Astral’s hands seems to dance over Yuma’s body, accompanied by questions. How does this feel? What do you like? Yuma tells Astral that it’s all new to him, too, and they need to find out together.

Yuma’s orgasm catches him by surprise, despite the fact that Astral has gotten him very much worked up. Without thinking, he takes Astral’s hand and holds it steady over his cock, grinding up into Astral’s palm as he comes. He still has one hand over Astral’s gem, and he knows Astral is feeling everything alongside him. Yuma arches towards Astral, as close as he can get, and it’s still not close enough. He never wants to be away from Astral ever again. As Yuma comes down from the high of his orgasm, he realizes that Astral is still strung out.

“Astral?” Yuma says, his voice hoarse. Astral moans, his eyes squeezed shut. Yuma sits up, cupping Astral’s face in both of his hands, and kisses him. “Tell me what to do,” Yuma encourages. “What can I do for you?”

Astral tips his head back. “I want your mouth…on my neck.”

Yuma lowers his head and breathes over the gem on Astral’s neck, “Here?”

“ _Yes,_ ” Astral groans.

Yuma doesn’t need any more encouragement. He closes his mouth around the gem, runs his tongue over the cool surface, and sucks on it, softly at first, and harder as Astral lets out a choked whimper. Yuma keeps his eyes open. It’s hard to see, from his position, but he read that the gems would glow when Astral experiences an orgasm. Or, the equivalent of one. He’s able to see a bit of the white-blue glow, it’s soft, but definitely noticeable, and it lingers even after Yuma sits up and nuzzles Astral’s cheek.

“Was that what you wanted?” Yuma asks.

Astral nods. “What about you?”

“It was more than I could have ever imagined,” Yuma says.

At that, Astral laughs. “Oh, I know.”

Yuma tackles Astral to the bed. “You cheated, though,” he accuses. Before Astral can defend himself, Yuma kisses him soundly. Astral wraps his legs around Yuma’s hips, grinding up against him. Yuma presses down against Astral, wanting to feel more, more of Astral’s skin, of his body heat, of the way he moves beneath Yuma.

But Astral has other ideas. He grabs Yuma’s shoulders and flips their positions.

“There was something else I wanted to try,” Astral says, taking Yuma’s hands and placing them on his hips. “It was in the diary. I believe the term was something like… _ride you._ ”

Yuma knows what Astral means. “Fuck,” he swears.

Astral grins. “I know that word. Does that mean it’s okay?”

Yuma nods. “Yes, it’s _absolutely_ okay.”

 

 

Yuma wakes up slowly. He’s sprawled out on his back, Astral on top of him. One of his arms is around Astral’s waist, and Astral’s head pressed against his neck. Yuma smiles as he remembers the previous night, how amazing it was.

“Yuma?”

“I’m awake,” Yuma says, coughing as his throat aches.

Astral sits up and leans over Yuma to take something from the side table. Yuma spots a dark mark on Astral’s neck.

“Is that a hickey?” Yuma asks.

Astral claps his hand over his neck, blushing. “I didn’t know I could even have these,” he mutters, shoving a water bottle at Yuma.

Yuma drinks, and when he’s had his fill he kisses Astral briefly. “You take such good care of me already,” he says, smiling. “I didn’t notice the water last night.”

Astral grins. “I woke up about an hour ago and figured you would need it.”

Yuma rubs his hand up and down Astral’s arm, mostly just to have an excuse to feel his skin. “You could have woken me. You must have been bored.”

Astral looks sheepish. “Well, being that you were naked…it was only natural that your skin would come in contact with my gems.”

It takes Yuma a moment to realize what that implies. “So…did you feel what I felt when I was asleep?”

“When you were dreaming,” Astral murmurs. “You seemed very happy.”

“That’s so cool,” Yuma says. “I don’t usually remember my dreams, unless they’re nightmares. I guess it’s good to know I was having nice dreams.”

“You’re not upset?” Astral asks.

Yuma shakes his head. “It’s not something I mind. I’m sure there will be times we won’t want this kind of connection, but for now I think it’s good.” He moves from stroking Astral’s arm to the back of his neck, and his hair. “We’re married,” Yuma says quietly.

“We are,” Astral agrees, turning his head and brushing his lips against the inside of Yuma’s arm. “I never got to tell you, I was so happy yesterday, during the ceremony.”

Yuma sighs happily. “I was so nervous, but when I saw you…I wasn’t, anymore. I thought you looked beautiful, by the way.”

“You couldn’t stop staring,” Astral says, “Though to be fair, neither could I. You were beautiful, too. You are beautiful.”

Yuma leans forward and kisses Astral, slow and deep, taking his time. Astral wraps his arms around Yuma’s neck, slides into his lap. Yuma tangles his fingers in Astral’s beautiful hair, pulling him closer. It’s only been a month, and he’s fallen so deep into love with Astral already. They’ve not yet been married for an entire day, and as much as Yuma hated the thought of leaving home, he now finds himself excited for his future with Astral. There’s so much they have waiting for them—some of it related to being ambassadors for peace, they’ll give talks at schools and public places, but most of the time it will just be the two of them, making a life for themselves.

Yuma falls back on the bed, pulling Astral with him. They land on the mattress, sheets billowing around them, and Yuma giggles and noses along Astral’s jaw.

“There’s so much we could do now,” he says.

Astral hums in agreement. “There is. We could go on a date tonight. Down to the docks, like we did on that first day. And we would be alone, no one to hide from or sneak away from.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Yuma says, “If I can convince myself to leave this bed.” He curls up against Astral’s body. “Not sure it’s happening. I’m still pretty tired.”

Astral props himself up on one arm and strokes Yuma’s hair. “You were already tired after the wedding. And then…well, it’s natural for you to need more rest.”

“Not you?” Yuma asks.

Astral looks thoughtful. “I suppose I am more worn down than I anticipated.”

“Does anything hurt?” Yuma asks.

Astral shakes his head. “No, Yuma. I’m fine. What about you?”

Yuma wrinkles his nose. “I think my thighs and stomach are a little sore.” From supporting Astral’s weight, and from thrusting up, into the heat of his body. Yuma blushes at the memory of it. “I have to say, I’m still kind of…in shock, in a good way. Whatever I imagined, last night was so much better.”

“It was,” Astral says. “We have a good relationship, not just in our personalities, but physically as well.”

“And it’s only been a day,” Yuma muses.

Astral grins. “Yes, it has. A good day.”

“A great day,” Yuma says.

They spend a few minutes in silence, cuddling. Eventually Yuma falls asleep again, and when he wakes up a few hours later, he decides that it’s time to get up and get in the shower.

“Can I join you?” Astral asks.

Yuma blushes and nods. He grabs a shirt and underwear, Astral leaves the bedroom empty handed.

“Does my unclothed state bother you?” Astral asks.

“No,” Yuma says, “It’s totally up to you if you want to wear clothes or not, just like it is on Astral world.”

Astral asks, “Is it the same on Barian world?”

“Well, for everyone except me,” Yuma says. He closes the bathroom door behind himself and Astral, and laughs as he realizes it doesn’t matter. “See, I wear clothes on Barian world because, well, I’ve done that my whole life. Just like I’ve closed the bathroom door my whole life.” He stares at the closed door for a second, then turns his back on it. “Is it okay if we leave it closed? I don’t want to let the cold air in.”

Astral shrugs. “It doesn’t matter to me, so yes, we can leave it closed.”

Yuma turns on the water in the shower, and is pleased to see that shampoo and body wash has been left for him. There are towels in the bathroom closet, and Yuma takes two out.

Astral follows Yuma into the shower stall, and Yuma asks, “Does the water feel too warm?”

Astral shakes his head. “It’s fine. It’s nice, actually. We don’t use showers on Astral world, so this is new for me.”

Yuma tugs Astral forward to stand under the water with him, and he kisses Astral slowly. Astral sighs, leaning against Yuma, arms around Yuma’s waist. Yuma thinks he could spend hours just kissing Astral, and he has to remind himself to actually _wash_. Astral makes Yuma teach him how to wash his hair, and out of fear that Astra will get soap in his eyes, Yuma does it himself. Astral moans as Yuma massages his scalp, and the sound goes through Yuma like lightning, and it gets them both worked up again.

“You should be illegal,” Yuma mutters, trying to resist the urge to roll his hips forward, against Astral’s thighs. He tugs Astral back by his hair, letting the water wash the soap away. Astral sputters and Yuma apologizes sheepishly.

“Never mind,” Astral says, twisting around to look at Yuma. “Yuma, I would very much like for us to have sex now.”

Heat races down Yuma’s spine. “Now?” He asks.

Astral turns around fully, grabs Yuma’s shoulders, and pulls them both to the shower floor. “Right now.”

“That can’t be comfortable,” Yuma says, even as his hand goes between Astral’s legs. Astral groans and wraps his legs around Yuma’s waist.

“I’m fine,” Astral gasps.

Yuma slips two fingers inside Astral’s body. He rubs his fingers slowly against Astral’s skin, and Astral throws his head back, gasping Yuma’s name.

Thank the gods the shower isn’t in either of their faces, Yuma thinks to himself as he leans over Astral and kisses him again, sucking on his tongue. Astral keens, and pulls away to tell Yuma to get inside of him now. Yuma obeys, pulling Astral closer by his thighs and rolling his hips forward, into the slick heat of Astral’s body.

“More,” Astral whines, “Yuma, I want more.”

Yuma braces himself against the shower wall and leans down. “I never thought you’d be so insatiable,” he says, before scraping his teeth over the gem on Astral’s neck.

Astral cries out wordlessly, and Yuma does it again. He wraps his other arm around Astral’s waist, tugging him up a little, angling his hips higher, and he sucks hard on the gem. Yuma’s eyes are closed, but even from behind his eyelids he can tell that Astral’s gems are glowing.

“Please don’t stop,” Astral breathes.

Yuma laves his tongue over the gem and leans down even more. His arm slips from the wall and his hand splashes down into the water pooling on the shower floor.

“Oops,” Yuma giggles, his lips still pressed to Astral’s neck.

Astral strokes Yuma’s hair. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” Yuma says, kissing up Astral’s neck, along his jaw, finishing at his mouth. He continues to rock his hips forward, for the moment not even thinking about his own pleasure. All he wants is to keep drawing those beautiful sounds from Astral’s lips.

Astral reaches up over his head, flailing a bit until he turns the water off. “I foresee this taking a while,” he says, grinning wickedly. He pushes at Yuma’s shoulders until he sits up, and in one fluid motion, without touching anything, he rolls his body up, off the shower floor, and balances himself astride Yuma’s hips.

“Damn,” Yuma whispers, digging his fingers into Astral’s hips.

Astral grins and slowly lifts himself up, and then slides back down, clenching around Yuma’s cock.

Yuma swears, his head tilted back, eyes fluttering shut. Astral lifts up again, and when Yuma feels him move down he rolls his hips up, deeper this time.

“Yes,” Astral whimpers, “Again, Yuma…”

Astral could ask for anything, and Yuma would try to find a way to give it to him. Yuma has no idea how much time they spend sprawled on the shower floor, making love, but Astral comes twice more before Yuma does, and by then Yuma is ready for another shower, and he tells Astral as much.

“Well then, I guess we’re in the right place,” Astral says, nuzzling Yuma’s neck.

Though Yuma just washed his hair, Astral does it again, massaging Yuma’s scalp the way Yuma had done for him. Clean once more, they dry off and go downstairs to the kitchen. Yuma is _starving_. He finds a huge bag of ready-made stir fry and tells himself to send his sister some flowers, gods bless her for having such foresight.

“I ought to learn to cook,” Yuma says.

“We could always just order food,” Astral says.

“We could,” Yuma agrees, “But making food can be special if you can do it right. Can you cook?”

Astral wrinkles his nose. “I can make…soup? I believe that’s what you would call it, but I doubt it’s fit for human consumption. It involves soaking minerals—rocks, really—in hot water, and then adding flavoring from other natural substances.”

“Rock soup,” Yuma muses over the crackling of oils against food in the frying pan. “And it…fills you up?”

“It’s more like a vitamin,” Astral says. “We consume it to get any sustenance our bodies miss out on in our natural environments.”

Yuma finishes up the stir fry and tips it on to two plates. He places one in front of Astral. “It needs to cool,” he warns.

It’s not restaurant quality, but Yuma is so hungry after all that physical exertion that he barely tastes the food anyway. Even Astral seems more enthusiastic about the food than he normally is, though he still doesn’t finish what’s on the plate, insisting that Yuma eat it.

After they eat, Yuma goes through the messages on his communicator. He only has three, one from Nash, congratulating Yuma on the marriage again; one from Marin, telling Yuma to call her if he needs anything; the final one from Akari, saying she loves him. Yuma sends a message back to Akari, saying he loves her, too, and he and Astral are doing well, they’re not starving to death, and he’ll see her as soon as he can tear himself away from his husband.

“Husband,” Yuma says out loud.

Astral turns to Yuma. “Me?”

Yuma laughs, utter delight sweeping over him, and he jumps up from his seat and into Astral’s lap. “You,” Yuma says, hands over the gems on Astral’s neck. “You’re my husband.”

Astral gasps. “Oh…oh, that makes you so happy.”

“It does,” Yuma breathes against Astral’s lips. “It really does.”

“It makes me happy, too,” Astral says. “Now, I would like for us to go back upstairs and continue what we were doing.”

“I would like that, too,” Yuma says, taking Astral’s hand and leading the way.

 

Hours later, Yuma and Astral lie in each other’s arms, breathless and tired, but glowing with satisfaction and joy.

“Yuma?” Astral says quietly.

“Yes?” Yuma says.

“This…this feeling I have for you…this desire to be close to you, emotionally and physically…it’s not something that I’ve been encouraged to feel.”

Yuma frowns and lifts himself up on his elbows, looking down at Astral. “What do you mean?”

Astral’s hands wrap around Yuma’s arms, holding him gently, yet with the air of one who is afraid to lose something. “I was supposed to be a leader. I was supposed to stay pure. Sexual desire for anyone, even someone of my own race, isn’t something I’ve ever been encouraged to feel. Even love in a platonic sense was…well, Eliphas didn’t approve. I think he would have forbidden me from seeing Enna, if she wasn’t so powerful herself.”

Yuma is in shock. “But why?”

Astral sighs. “Because a leader is supposed to be devoted to Astral world alone. No one else is supposed to come before duty to the world, not even myself. I told you before, I agreed to be married partially because it was the only way I could avoid being made a leader. And now…I can’t imagine any other life for myself other than the one you’ve shown me. I never knew these things I’ve felt with you were even possible.”

Yuma brushes his fingers down Astral’s cheek. “I’m both heartbroken for you, and honored by what you just said.”

Astral looks away. “When you allow me to experience what you’re feeling…has anyone ever made you feel that way before?”

Yuma shakes his head. “No, but…sure, a lot of this is new for me, too, but no one was stopping me from exploring that side of love and attraction. It was always possible for me. I hate to think of you not having that kind of freedom.”

Astral takes a deep breath. “I think Eliphas has done a lot of good, but I think he has done a lot wrong. I think he was wrong about love. I think it could have made me a better leader. I think you could have made me a better leader.”

Yuma leans down and kisses Astral’s forehead. “But we are leaders,” he says. “Not political ones, but we’re leaders of a movement for peace and understanding. We should start thinking about what we want to tell people, about how this relationship has changed us. But maybe we’ll start tomorrow.”

Astral smiles and closes his eyes. “I do love you, Yuma.”

“I love you too, Astral.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> asdfghjkl
> 
> plz leave me comments if ur brain is still in one piece after that chapter. because my brain sure as heck isn't lol


	7. The Madness of King Vector (No really, it is canon)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title inspired by Shakespeare's play "King Lear"
> 
> Warning for descriptions of war time violence.

2 Weeks Later

 

There’s a knock at the door and Astral and Yuma both rush to answer it. Astral gets there first and flings the door open. Enna and Akari burst in and wrap their arms around their brothers.

“It’s so good to see you again!” Akari cries, hugging Yuma so tight he can barely breathe, but it’s okay, because he’s sure he’s hugging her just as tightly.

“I missed you,” Yuma says.

It’s several minutes before the four of them can stop hugging long enough to move to the main living area. Akari looks around the house and says, “It’s a lot different from when I last saw it.”

Yuma point to the shelf he and Astral placed on the opposite wall. “Like it?” He asks. There’s a holographic projector which flashes pictures from the wedding on the wall, and on either side of that are the Barian crystals and vials of Astral world water.

“It’s adorable!” Akari says.

“Yuma says we should get some plants,” Astral says, “But we have no idea what kind to get.”

“Get an earth cactus,” Enna suggests, “I hear they are very hardy plants, and I have a feeling you two have little time for anything but each other right now.”

Akari laughs, Yuma blushes, and Astral smiles sheepishly.

“We’re newlyweds,” Yuma says.

“We know,” Akari says, ruffling Yuma’s hair, “We’re just teasing you.”

“How have you been finding newlywed life?” Enna asks.

Yuma takes Astral’s hand and smiles at him. “I can’t believe I was ever nervous about it. So far, we’ve been getting along wonderfully.”

“That’s great to hear,” Akari says. “And how do you like life on Aries? Or have you even left the house to experience it?”

Yuma swats her arm. “Oh, come on, we’ve left the house!”

Only a handful of times, but Yuma doesn’t say that. When they did leave it was to get a few basic things, like the shelf and projector, and food, and new sheets (when Astral ripped holes into their old ones during a particularly wonderful night together). When Yuma and Astral aren’t absorbed in each other, they’re usually reading Esper Robin and awaiting the live-action adaptation of the comic.

“Aries has been wonderful, too,” Astral says. “I think most everyone who lives and works here knows who we are and why we’re together, but no one is in our faces about it. To them we’re just another married couple living on the planet.”

“That’s a relief to hear,” Enna says. “I am glad you finally got the freedom you wanted, Astral.”

Astral sighs happily. “Indeed. It’s so refreshing, being able to come and go as I please, not having him hovering over me and trying to drill me at all times.”

“And what about you?” Akari asks Yuma. “How are you feeling?”

Yuma shrugs. “Not that different. But I do miss everyone.”

“We all miss you, too,” Akari says.

Yuma adds, “But Nash asked me to come home this week, to meet with him. Eliphas called Astral, too. We’re going to be going back alone this time, to get a feel for how things are going, and then after that I guess we’ll start campaigning.”

“So soon?” Enna asks.

Astral shrugs. “We assume that’s what Nash and Eliphas want to talk about.”

“I thought they would give you more time,” Akari says, looking worried. “Nash especially.”

“Maybe they just want to check on us,” Yuma says. “I’ll let you know when I go home, you can come to the meeting with me, if you want. But enough about that for now, tell us what happened after we left the wedding!”

 

 

Yuma departs for Barian world a few days later. He’ll only be gone for a few hours, but he’ll likely be spending the night without Astral, since Astral will only depart Aries in the evening.

“I can’t believe it, but I already miss you,” Yuma says, his face buried in Astral’s neck.

“Aren’t you excited, though?” Astral asks.

“Yeah, I am,” Yuma says, “But…I don’t know, it’ll be strange, coming back to an empty house.”

Astral kisses Yuma’s forehead. “I’ll do everything I can to get home as soon as possible. With any luck, you won’t be alone all night.”

Yuma kisses a gem on Astral’s neck, and Astral shudders in his arms. “Do I want to know what you’re thinking about?” Astral asks.

“You do,” Yuma says, smiling, “But not when I’m about to leave.”

Astral kisses Yuma, long and sweet, and they only stop when Yuma’s communicator chimes.

“That’s my ride,” Yuma says, leaning back.

“I’ll see you soon,” Astral says, kissing Yuma one last time. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Yuma says, and then he leaves, his heart heavy.

 

Yuma isn’t prepared for the feelings that hit him when he steps foot on Barian world. As happy as he is with Astral, as much as Yuma is going to miss him for these few hours, Yuma is back on a planet that has been his home for many years, yet it’s not his home anymore. Now his home is with Astral on Aries, and Barian world is his responsibility, as Astral world is his responsibility. Yuma’s not sure that he can afford to think of Barian world as home anymore.

Yuma pushes those thoughts from his head and searches the port for a familiar face. He finds one, and waves.

“Miss me?” Yuma asks, running up to Kite.

Kite accepts Yuma’s hug, and even hugs him back. “Yeah, I did.” He says gruffly.

Kite drives Yuma to the Emperor’s Palace and leaves him at the entrance, with a warning that Nash and Marin might be late, as they got called to another meeting. Yuma decides that the best place for him to wait is the throne room, so he heads straight to it, chosing not to pass by his old room along the way.

Yuma is supposed to be meeting with Nash and Marin. They are the ones who asked him to come, or at least Yuma thought they did, but when he gets to the throne room neither of them are waiting for him. Instead, it’s Vector who’s sitting on Nash’s throne. Yuma hasn’t seen him since the wedding, and hasn’t spoken to him since the night before the wedding. But he remembers Vector being cold to him at the reception, and though Vector is wearing his mask, Yuma can tell that he’s not sporting a friendly expression at the moment.

“Where are Nash and Marin?” Yuma asks, dread seeping into his stomach.

Vector smirks at him. “Aren’t you happy to see me, sweet Yuma?”

Yuma forces himself not to shiver. “No, you haven’t exactly been welcoming to me lately.”

Vector stands. “Haven’t I? Well then,” he spreads his arms. “Welcome, sweet little Yuma! Welcome home! Welcome to the planet that gave you shelter, welcome to the palace you were raised in!”

Yuma wants to run in fear, but he stands his ground. Even though Vector scares him sometimes, Yuma just knows that there’s something not right with him, and his kind and caring nature outweighs his fear and makes him want to help Vector. “Are you alright?” Yuma asks.

Vector begins to descend from the throne. “I’m fine!” He shrieks, “I’m perfectly fine! Now let’s talk about you, or better yet, about your dearly beloved husband! Let’s talk about Astral, Yuma!” Vector flies down the rest of the steps and stops dead in front of Yuma. “How is he doing?!” Vector shouts, his face inches from Yuma’s.

“Why do you ask?” Yuma asks, and Vector loses any cool he had left. Yuma can’t breathe, and he realizes it’s because Vector’s hand is _around his throat_.

“Why?!” Vector screams, “Why do I ask?! I want to hear it straight from your mouth, you little whore! You’ve fallen in love with him, haven’t you? ANSWER ME!”

Yuma claws at Vector’s hand. Panic has set in now, yet somehow there’s still a sense that he doesn’t want to truly hurt Vector. Choking, Yuma answers, “I love him.”

Vector releases Yuma. Yuma falls to the ground, hands going to his throat, and Vector stumbles back.

“I knew it!” Vector screams, pointing at Yuma, “You—you filthy little traitor!”

“T-traitor?” Yuma echoes, trying to catch his breath.

Vector starts to laugh, high pitched and cruel, it makes the hair on the back of Yuma’s neck stand up. “He’s in love,” Vector gasps. “Oh, this is just perfect! What a happy little fucking fairytale, the human and the lightbulb, in love and bringing peace to the worlds!” His laughter stops and his voice rises in pitch until it’s an outright screech. “I should have known better! You’re not one of us, you could never have understood, you weren’t supposed to fall in love!” Vector takes a step forward. “I should kill you right now! I should _make you pay_ —”

Vector is knocked through the air by a blast of light. He flies twenty feet away and skids across the floor. Yuma looks toward the direction of the blast and sees the other six Emperors at the entrance to the throne room. Nash has his hand out, and he looks murderous.

“Vector, you are out of line,” Nash says coldly.

That same cruel laugh starts again as Vector gets to his feet. “I’m out of line?!” He asks. “I’m the only one here with any sense left! You’ve all gone mad! Talking about peace every day, let’s make fucking friends with Astral world!” He staggers forward. “It’ll never happen! I’ll make sure of that! I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure of it!”

Gilag and Dumon suddenly shoot forward. They grab Vector by the arms and force him to his knees. Vector begins to scream wordlessly, and thrash. Nash steps forward, his hand outstretched.

Yuma doesn’t remember getting to his feet. He becomes aware of himself only when he crashes into Nash. The Barian Emperor is stronger than Yuma and doesn’t fall, but he is surprised and stops his approach.

“Yuma, what—”

“Don’t hurt him!” Yuma screams.

The entire room falls silent, even Vector ceases his screaming.

Nash looks at Yuma in shock. “How can you defend him? He threatened to kill you!”

Yuma begins to sob. “I know…” His throat aches where Vector squeezed it, but there’s a sense of wrongness to everything, and it’s the kind of feeling that says to Yuma that there is more to this situation. Yuma turns to Vector and looks at him. His pupils are dilated, he’s looking around wildly, and the look in his eyes…it’s pure madness. Yuma can’t look at him without feeling pity.

“Nash,” Yuma sobs, “Look at him! Can’t you see that…that he’s unwell?”

Vector jerks in Gilag and Dumon’s hold. “I’m perfectly fine!” He screams. “And I don’t need you defending me, you piece of trash! If anyone is unwell here it’s _you!_ ”

Nash steps forward again and Yuma throws himself between Nash and Vector. “DON’T!” Yuma cries, “Please, Nash! Look at him! He’s out of his mind, can’t you see that?!”

Vector screeches, “YOU KNOW NOTHING!”

Yuma clings to Nash’s hand. “Please, listen to me!” He begs, “If you’re going to do anything to him, make him talk! When have any of you ever actually spoken to him? Don’t you know that hatred has roots? He must have a reason to hate Astral world this much, make him tells us!”

Vector continues to scream; Mizael and Alito join Gilag and Dumon in restraining him. Yuma can’t look anymore, he feels like he’s watching something obscene, like a cat toying with a mouse before it’s eaten. Vector is the mouse, but he’s the cat too. It’s like he’s being ripped apart from the inside, like his brain is tearing him to pieces. Yuma clings to Nash and sobs into his neck.

“Please,” Yuma begs, “Don’t…don’t hurt him…”

Nash takes Yuma’s shoulders and moves him aside, then he walks towards Vector and holds out his hand. Yuma and Vector scream at the same time. Vector is surrounded by a red glow, and the other Barians release him. Vector thrashes wildly on the floor. Marin grabs Yuma before he can launch himself at Nash again.

“What are you doing?!” Yuma screams.

“Making him talk,” Nash says, his voice calm. Yuma can barely hear him over Vector’s continued screeching. “I’m not trying to hurt him Yuma, but he is fighting me. I want the truth. We’ll see why he hates Astral world so much, one way or another.”

“ _I’LL KILL YOU ALL!_ ” Vector screams before he dissolves into wordless shrieks. Yuma’s not sure what to call the sound that comes from him, whatever it is, it’s heartbreaking. Yuma never thought he could feel pity for Vector. Vector suddenly goes deathly still. He lies on the floor, his chest heaving. Nash steps closer, and the red glow intensifies. An unearthly howl leaves Vector.

Nash yells, “Tell me why you hate Astral world!”

Vector’s voice takes on a pitch that’s part scream, part hiss. “ **The rest of the world was mourning the loss of the great ambassador,** ” he says, dragging out every other word. “ **The Tsukumo’s were all anyone could think about. Astral world attacked us on that same day, or don’t you remember? It was a school for children. I was right there. I was right outside when the place went up in flames**.”

Vector thrashes again, and Nash screams, “Keep talking!”

“ **I went inside!** ” Vector howls, speaking faster now. “ **I tried to save them! I could only carry one at a time, I had to avoid the fire, and the building was crumbling! I grabbed two—two little girls, I had to drop one! I tried to go back, but the fire was too much! I dream about it all the time—that girl, she thought she was being saved, and I dropped her, I left her to burn to death!** ” His words begin to jumble together. “ **They all burned! Have you ever heard the screams of children burning to death?! Have you ever smelled it?! Burning flesh and snapping bones and screaming children, but nobody gave a shit because _KAZUMA TSUKUMO WAS DEAD!_ And the children I did manage to save, they were burned so badly that half of them died! The girl I saved when I dropped the other—she died in the medic’s arms!** ”

Yuma turns away from Vector and he hides his face in Marin’s shoulder, gagging. He think he’s going to be sick right there on the floor. Vector screams again, a sound of pure agony, and it cuts off abruptly. Yuma looks up. Vector’s eyes are closed, and the red glow surrounding him fades slightly. Nash’s arm is still out, keeping his hold on Vector’s body. He looks horrified. Yuma staggers from Marin’s arms. He falls to his knees by Vector’s side.

Vector slowly opens his eyes. Yuma reaches for him, but Vector hisses, “Don’t touch me, Astral-fucker.”

Nash moves forward.

“Don’t hurt him!” Yuma screams, whirling around. “Gods, can’t you see that this isn’t his fault?!”

Vector’s starts to curse, but his voice is strained and his exhaustion is evident. He’s like a wasp that’s lost its stinger and crawls on the ground, moments from death but still trying to attack.

Marin comes to Nash’s side and lays her hand on her brother’s arm. “I never thought I would say this and mean it, but…he truly isn’t in his right mind.”

“I AM SO!” Vector cries, “I’m going to kill every single inhabitant of Astral world, I’m going to burn them alive!” He laughs hysterically. “I’m going to listen to their screams and I’ll finally have my revenge!”

Nash looks Yuma in the eye. “I’m going to make him sleep.”

“You will not!” Vector screams, but the glow intensifies once more and Vector’s head falls back as he goes unconscious.

There is a moment of silence. Yuma reaches out with shaking fingers and removes Vector’s mask, presses his hand to Vector’s cheek. He never could have imagined that Vector could be hiding such a horrific secret, and Yuma had no idea that the anniversary of his parents’ death was shared with dozens of children of Barian world.

Mizael breaks the silence. “I remember the attack on the school. Thirty children were killed. It was an Astral world missile that did it.”

It’s more than Yuma can take. He crawls away from Vector’s prone body and vomits. He’s aware of Marin patting his back, murmuring to him, but he can’t be comforted. Even when there’s nothing left in Yuma’s stomach for him to chuck up, he continues to heave. Marin begs Yuma to calm down before he passes out, but Yuma would welcome the loss of consciousness.

Nash waves his hand over the mess Yuma left and it vanishes. Then Nash kneels in front of Yuma. “You need to breathe,” he says. “And you need to remember that the war was not yours or Astral’s fault.”

Yuma inhales deeply and starts to sob again. “I didn’t know,” he whimpers, “No wonder Vector hated me so much…”

Nash shakes his head. “Vector’s hatred has always been misdirected, this revelation doesn’t change that,” he says firmly. But when he continues, he speaks more gently. “You were right, Vector is unwell, and I see now that he has been for a long time. I promise you Yuma, he will get help. He will get treatment, and when he is better he will still have to answer for hurting you. What he did to you was wrong, nothing can change that.”

Yuma puts his hand over his heart. He feels like it’s been ripped out and stomped on. “What about what Astral world did to those kids? Will you make them answer for it?”

Nash hesitates. “Every war has casualties. I’m sure Barian world missiles killed Astral world’s children, too. I will look into it.”

Yuma doubles over. He feels like the world is spinning. “It’s unfair,” he gasps, and then he blacks out.

 

 

Yuma wakes up in Akari’s room, with his sister by his side.

“I heard what happened,” She says, stroking Yuma’s hair. “Marin told me everything. I always forget…how much older Vector is than us. How much he remembers that we don’t.”

Yuma gulps, and winces as the movement makes his throat ache. Akari notices and continues, “Nash called for a medic to come check on you, they should be here soon. Marin and Gilag took Vector to a hospital a little while ago, I think they’re bringing someone back with them. You shouldn’t try to talk in the meantime, Vector…” She stops, closes her eyes, and says in a controlled voice, “He hurt you.”

Yuma shakes his head. “That’s not him,” he says, his voice strained. Akari looks ready to protest, but Yuma cuts her off. “Does Astral—” He can’t finish the sentence, it hurts too much.

“Yes, we told him,” Akari says. “He’s on his way.”

Yuma’s eyes fill with tears. He wants to keep talking, but Akari shakes her head.

“Later, please Yuma, I want to be sure you’re okay.”

And only a few minutes later there’s a knock at the door, and Marin enters with a nurse.

Yuma keeps his eyes shut during the examination, because Akari and Marin won’t stop looking at him like they’re afraid he could die. Yuma is fine, he will be fine, he has lived a life of knowing that he is fine. Vector is the one who deserves pity. He has suffered for fifteen years, and no one cared enough to know about it. The words Nash forced out of Vector circle in Yuma’s head like a broken record.

‘ _I tried to save them…I dropped her…children burning to death…_ ’

Yuma gags and the nurse takes her hands off his neck. “Apologies,” she says softly.

“Is he okay?” Akari asks.

“The damage is minimal,” the nurse says. “I will administer a serum to decrease the swelling. Yuma, once the swelling has gone down you’ll be able to talk, but try not to swallow. Liquids only, small sips, until tomorrow morning.”

The nurse injects the serum right into Yuma’s neck, but Yuma barely feels anything. He’s dissociating, he realizes. He did it a lot right after his parents died. He’s back in that headspace, where he doesn’t want to think or feel anything, and he doesn’t want to talk to anyone. The nurse leaves and Yuma rolls onto his side, facing away from Akari.

“Yuma…”

Yuma covers his ears. When he turns around a few minutes later, he’s alone in Akari’s room. He lies in silence for hours, floating between consciousness and an almost dream-like state of denial, until he hears the door open and he knows in his soul that it’s Astral.

Yuma sits up and Astral flies to his side. He looks like he’s been crying.

“Yuma,” Astral murmurs, his hands on Yuma’s face. “I’m so sorry.”

Yuma sobs and leans against Astral’s body. Astral holds him and rubs his back. Yuma feels like he just fell to earth, like he’s been zapped back into his body. He’s so confused, and hurt, and he doesn’t know how to make himself feel better.

“I didn’t know,” Yuma sobs. “I didn’t know about any of it. What kind of person does that make me?”

Astral’s grip tightens. “It’s not your fault,” he says. “You were a child, and you suffered an incredible loss.”

“But I’m supposed to promote peace,” Yuma whimpers, “And I don’t even know all that happened during the war.”

“I didn’t know about it, either,” Astral says quietly. “Yuma…war is a terrible thing. It’s not a sin to avoid looking into its horrors. I don’t think either of us prepared for this side of peace, for the need to heal the broken. But I’m not sure that’s our job, either. We’re not psychologists, Yuma. There’s only so much you and I can do. A lot of it must also fall on our leaders.”

Astral leans back and wipes Yuma’s tears from his cheeks. “When I heard you had been hurt, my heart stopped. When I heard about what Vector said…I could feel my heart breaking for him. You feel the same, don’t you?”

Yuma nods.

“You’re a pure soul, Yuma,” Astral says. “I guess in a way, we both are. Not everyone could feel such empathy. Yuma, it’s okay for you to pity Vector. It’s okay for you to feel sad for all those children. And you can be angry that Vector’s mental illness went unchecked for so long, but remember that it’s not your fault. Vector’s rage, however justified it may or may not be, is still misdirected. You are not to blame for the tragedy.”

Yuma falls back against Astral and sobs, “Then why do I feel so guilty?”

“Oh, Yuma,” Astral croons, “It will pass. You’re grieving, you’re dealing with this shock in your own way right now. There’s no right way to react in this situation. But I promise you, when you feel up to it, we can talk this through until you stop feeling that guilt. We can find a professional to talk to, if you want. But I know you’re not up to that right now.” Astral kisses Yuma’s temple. “I love you still, Yuma. Did you know that? You may feel terrible, and angry at the world, but I love you anyway. I’ll always love you, no matter what.”

In the midst of his misery, Yuma feels a spark of hope. It’s almost automatic for his hand to go to a gem on Astral’s body, and Astral gasps.

“I love you,” Astral says again, pressing Yuma’s hand to the gem. “I wish I had begun with that, if I had known how happy it would make you.”

“I love you, too,” Yuma whispers. “I hope you know that. Nash told me that it wasn’t either of our faults, and in the back of my head I was worried that you thought I’d be mad at you, but I’m not, I never thought to be angry at you.” He sniffles. “Is that bad? That I was mad at myself but not you?”

“Like I said, there’s no right way to react in this situation,” Astral says, “Though I’m very glad to hear that you weren’t angry with me. I would have understood if you were, I think. And I think you know that, which is why you’re so willing to forgive Vector. What you have to remember, Yuma, is that Vector hurt you. It’s one thing to be angry, it’s another thing to try to kill a person.”

Yuma sniffles and turns his head into Astral’s neck. “He terrified me,” Yuma admits.

“I can only imagine,” Astral says. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I know neither of us could have predicted this, but that’s my own guilt that I’m dealing with.”

“It’s not your fault,” Yuma says.

“Just like it’s not yours,” Astral replies.

Yuma actually finds it in him to smile. “Did you do that on purpose?”

Astral chuckles. “I wish I was that clever. Now, let’s get you to a different room, shall we? I’m sure Akari would prefer if we didn’t share her bed tonight, even if we did just sleep in it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you though shit went down in this chapter, wait until you see what happens next.


	8. From Ancient Grudge Break to New Mutiny (sh*t’s about to go down)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for minor physical violence
> 
> chapter title inspired by a line from R&J Act 1

Yuma spends the night curled around Astral, his head on Astral’s chest. He sleeps fitfully and wakes up tired, content to lie in bed with Astral for a while.

“Are you going to be in trouble?” Yuma asks, the first thing he’s said since last night. “You skipped your meeting with Eliphas to be here.”

Astral scoffs, “I really don’t care what Eliphas says. It was more important to be with you.”

“But he’s your leader, he’s practically a god,” Yuma says softly.

“And you’re my husband,” Astral says, his fingers under Yuma’s chin, tilting his head up. “I have responsibility to you, too. And it’s more important for me, personally, to be where you need me.”

Yuma closes his eyes, tears brimming behind his eyelids. “I’m just sorry this had to be the first time you came to my home.”

“I still think it’s beautiful,” Astral says. “Maybe later we can go for a walk? If you’re up for it.”

Yuma sits up. “Actually, can we go now?”

Astral nods. “Do you want to eat first?”

Yuma shakes his head. “I don’t think I can.”

Yuma takes Astral to the crystal garden. As miserable as Yuma feels, he loves watching Astral take in the garden.

“Can I touch them?” Astral asks, looking at the crystals.

“Sure,” Yuma says.

Astral gingerly brushes his fingers over the crystals.

“It’s okay,” Yuma laughs, “They’re rocks, you could probably kick them and they’d be fine.”

Astral laughs, too, and says, “They’re amazing. We don’t have anything like this on Astral world. I’d imagine that when the sun hits them just right, they look wonderful.”

Yuma takes Astral’s hand. “Come with me.”

They walk past small crystal towers, huge ones that are thousands of years old, and then Yuma leads Astral through a gated portion of the garden.

“This is the treasure of this place,” Yuma says.

In the center of the garden, the towering pillars of crystal have been filed and carved into beautiful, geometric shapes. Rainbows cover the ground, the nearby plants, and Astral and Yuma.

“Oh, gods,” Astral gasps.

Yuma links his arm with Astral’s. “I love this place,” he says. “Do you mind if we just stay here, for a bit?”

“I would love that,” Astral says.

They sit on one of the benches dotting the area, and for a while neither of them speak. Finally, Yuma says, “Vector was the one who picked the crystals for our wedding. I was in the garden with him, and I was having a hard time finding something I liked. I had to leave, and when I returned to my room in the evening, I found the crystals on my bed, waiting for me. Vector was the only one who could have done it. Well, I suppose it could have been Alit, or Durbe, but Vector was the only one with me in the garden. And he didn’t deny that he picked them.”

Astral kisses Yuma’s head. “You sound conflicted.”

“He hates Astral world, why would he help me if I was marrying you?” Yuma murmurs. “But he said I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with you. Maybe he didn’t hate me at first, maybe it only started after the wedding.”

Astral says, “I think that we can only speculate about Vector’s motives. I think Vector himself might be confused about his own feelings.”

Yuma clings to Astral’s hand with both of his own. “Would you be…okay if I went to see him?”

“Of course,” Astral says. “I’ll go with you, if you want.”

Yuma lifts his head. “I would love that, actually.”

 

Yuma and Astral go with Alit to see Vector, in the planet’s only mental health facility. Yuma has been warned that Vector is restrained, and sedated. It’s going to take a lot of work for Vector to understand that people are trying to help him, that he may not have a choice in the matter, but he needs treatment. The staff seem surprised to see Astral by Yuma’s side, but none of them comment on it, though that could be because Alit is glaring at everyone.

The walk to Vector’s room is silent, until Yuma stands by the door and says, “Astral, I think…you should wait outside.”

Astral kisses Yuma’s hand. “I’ll be here for you, if you need me.”

Yuma takes a deep breath and lets go of Astral’s hand, and enters Vector’s room. Despite the warning he received, it’s a shock to see Vector bound, an IV tube coming out of his skin. His mask is off, and lying on a table on the other side of the room. Vector’s eyes are closed, but he opens them when Yuma sits beside his bed.

“You,” Vector hisses.

Yuma lifts his head. “Me.”

“This is your fault. That I’m here.”

Yuma nods. “I know. And I’m not sorry.”

Vector laughs. “Of course not. You must be thrilled to see me like this. You must think you’re safe. I can still destroy you.”

“No, you can’t,” Yuma says slowly. He’s beginning to realize something, and he says it out loud. “I stopped Nash from killing you outright, so yes, you’re here because of me. I saved your life.”

“So I suppose you think I should thank you,” Vector says sarcastically. “But I would rather be dead than humiliated like this.”

“Who does that help?” Yuma asks. “You’re a hero.”

“If I was a hero, I would have saved more,” Vector snaps, then he jerks in his restraints. “Stop talking to me, this medication makes me say more than I want.”

“You are a hero, though,” Yuma insists. “You tried to help, and that’s what I’m doing, I’m trying to help.”

Vector bares his teeth. “You have no idea what it’s like to be in my head. To hear them screaming, to smell the fire. You didn’t _do_ anything.”

“But I can try to understand,” Yuma says. “You could have told me. I would have listened. I said I thought of you as my friend.” Yuma puts his hands on Vector’s arm. “You were my friend. You were kind to me in the past, even though I was a Tsukumo. I know some part of you wanted help.”

“I don’t want help!” Vector screams. “I want revenge! I want to kill them all and then die so I don’t have to think about it anymore!”

Yuma gasps. “Oh…Vector, no…” He touches Vector’s hair, and Vector thrashes.

“Leave me alone!” He screams.

Yuma removes his hands.

Vector turns his head away from Yuma and sobs. “Damn you, Yuma Tsukumo. You ruined everything.”

Yuma closes his eyes. Vector is suicidal, he’s in the throes of some kind of psychosis. Maybe it was a mistake to come here. Yuma looks across the room at Vector’s mask. He gets up, retrieves it, and stands next to Vector.

“Do you want your mask?” Yuma asks.

Vector opens his eyes. He doesn’t say anything, but his eyes are on the mask. It’s a source of pride for Barians, Vector barely takes it off. He must feel worse without it. Carefully, without touching Vector with his hands, Yuma places the mask on Vector’s face. It hides his tears. Yuma straightens up and says, “I’ll leave now.”

But Vector calls, “Why do you still care?”

Yuma is utterly confused. “Because…I have a heart?”

“I tried to kill you,” Vector says incredulously.

Yuma shrugs. “I know. But even then I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Why not?!” Vector demands.

Yuma thinks back to those moments, to the look in Vector’s eyes. “Because…I could tell something was wrong with you. Because it would be wrong to hurt a sick person. Because even now I believe that there’s still a chance for you to heal and be a different person. And if I’m wrong then…well, I still believe that you deserve a chance to heal. I don’t think you ever did heal from what you saw. I don’t think you ever understood that it wasn’t your fault. I don’t think you knew how to move past your guilt.”

“And what, you believe that I’ll get better and paint a rainbow in the sky with you?” Vector snaps.

Yuma shrugs again. “No, but maybe you won’t hate yourself anymore.”

Vector has no response to that. Yuma leaves.

“Are you okay?” Astral asks, holding out his arms.

Yuma steps into Astral’s embrace. “I think I will be.”

 

 

Yuma returns to Aries with his sister, and Astral leaves right for Astral world from Barian world, with Kite as his escort. He’s not looking forward to meeting with Eliphas, but he knows it has to be done.

The cool colors of Astral world do nothing to calm Astral’s mood when he arrives. He’s burning up inside, a desire for answers at the forefront of his mind, and a desire to be home, with Yuma, not far from his thoughts. When Astral walks into Eliphas’ private meeting room, he notes that Eliphas is displeased.

“You’re late,” Eliphas says.

“I was with my husband,” Astral says coldly. “He had an emergency.”

“So I hear,” Eliphas says. “A member of his own planet tried to kill him.”

“There are extenuating circumstances,” Astral says, but Eliphas speaks over him.

“And I hear that the two of you went to see this attempted murderer.” Eliphas takes a step closer to Astral. “Please tell me you didn’t do something so foolish.”

“I did,” Astral says. “Yuma wanted to see Vector. I went with him.”

“And do you do everything your husband asks of you?” Eliphas asks.

“I do what I can to support him,” Astral says, “As he does for me.”

Eliphas growls, “Let me remind you that you have a job to do. You are to show the people of this world that the Barians are not a threat to us. And yet you go around visiting killers.”

“Vector tried to save innocent children from an Astral world missile,” Astral retorts. “What do you know about that?”

Eliphas looks furious. “Are you accusing me of something?”

Astral lifts his head. “You told me yourself, you ordered every attack on Barian world. What will Nash think of that?”

“You will say nothing,” Eliphas hisses. “Your loyalty is to Astral world. They killed our people, we killed theirs. That is what happens in war.”

Astral balls his hands into fists. “My loyalty is to my heart!” He cries, “Which is something I learned from Yuma! I can’t be happy if I live only for one thing, I can have loyalty to Astral world and to Yuma, because I love both my home and my husband!”

Eliphas steps closer. “Love is not part of your job. I can see that this boy has changed you. He has tainted you somehow. Your soul is different. If I could reverse time, I would never have allowed you to marry him.”

Astral sways on his feet, his hands over his heart. He knew Eliphas could be unreasonable, but this…this is beyond what he expected.

“Yuma hasn’t tainted me at all,” Astral cries. “He loves me, and he has taught me how to love others, and myself, which is more than you ever did! Yuma taught me more in weeks than you did in years! Even if you could try to stop me, you would fail, because I love Yuma more than you could ever hope to understand, do you hear me?!” Astral closes his eyes and screams, “There is nothing wrong with me, _you_ are the one who is wrong!”

With his eyes closed, Astral didn’t see Eliphas coming. He feels pain on his face, then he staggers to the side. He opens his eyes, one hand on his cheek, and looks up at Eliphas.

“Y-you hit me,” Astral stammers.

Eliphas looks taken aback himself. “Astral,” he says, his voice steady, “We have to talk about this.”

But Astral can’t stand to hear anymore. He runs from the room, from the palace, and straight to the port. Kite’s ship hasn’t left yet, and Astral flies to it, nearly slamming into Kite as he makes his way up the gangplank.

“What—?” Kite asks, but Astral interrupts him.

“Please get me away from here,” he pants, looking over his shoulder, half expecting Eliphas to come running after him. “Please, Kite, I need to leave.”

Kite takes Astral’s hand and pulls him on to the ship. He radios the control tower that he’s ready to leave, and before they can even give him permission, Kite is taking off. He doesn’t speak again until they are out of Astral world’s airspace.

“Where to?”

Astral sits in the copilot seat, his knees drawn up to his chest. “Home. To Yuma.”

 

 

Yuma wasn’t expecting Astral back so soon, so that tips him off to something being amiss right away. But then he registers Astral’s body language, and he knows something isn’t just amiss, it’s downright wrong.

“What happened?” Yuma asks as Astral closes the front door behind himself.

Astral has his head lowered. “Eliphas…”

“What did he do?” Yuma asks.

Astral lifts his head slightly, and Yuma’s hands fly to his mouth. Astral’s cheek is red and swollen.

“Oh my gods,” Yuma says from behind his hands. “Did he hit you?”

Astral give him the tiniest nod.

“Oh no,” Yuma breathes, taking his hands off his mouth.

Astral breaks. He begins to sob, and Yuma pulls Astral towards him and holds him, careful to keep his hands off of Astral’s gems. Astral is feeling enough now, he doesn’t need Yuma’s emotional torment. Astral cries for a long time. Yuma eventually guides him to the sofa, and they sit together, and Astral sobs into Yuma’s shirt. Yuma, at a loss for what to do, sends a message to Enna. He has a feeling Astral will be wanting her soon.

When Astral finally calms enough to catch his breath, Yuma tries to gather information.

“Does it hurt?” Yuma asks.

Astral sniffles. “A little. But the things he said…they hurt more.”

Yuma strokes Astral’s hair. “Can you tell me?”

Astral’s shoulders shake with repressed sobs. “I don’t know if I can say it. It was horrible.”

Yuma holds Astral close. “I hate him for hurting you,” Yuma says. “He has no excuse. He’s not sick.”

“I don’t know,” Astral says quietly. “He might be. I hope he is, because if he’s not then…then I don’t think I ever really knew him.”

Yuma kisses Astral’s forehead and cheeks. “What did he do to you?” Yuma murmurs.

Astral takes a deep breath. “It was about…you. And Vector. He wasn’t happy that I went to see Vector. And he said that I was…that I was tainted, and it was your fault.” Astral sobs violently and cries, “He said if he could, he would go back in time and stop me from marrying you.”

Ice-cold fear seizes Yuma, starting in his chest and quickly consuming him. Just as quickly, rage takes hold, chasing the fear away.

“He has no right,” Yuma says through gritted teeth. “He can’t do that, Astral.” Yuma forces himself to get a hold of his emotions. He takes a deep breath and gingerly maneuvers Astral upright.

“You know that, don’t you?” Yuma asks gently. “He can’t change the way we are now. He can’t go back in time, he can’t do anything to us in this time.” Yuma wipes the tears from Astral’s cheeks. “I’m not leaving you. I love you, Astral.” Yuma begins to tear up. “Do you understand? No one in the universe can take you from me, I won’t let them. We need each other too much. I need you.”

Astral doubles over, his forehead pressed to Yuma’s shoulder. “Yuma…I’m scared.”

“Of Eliphas?” Yuma asks.

Astral nods. The fury is back in Yuma, and he wants nothing more than to punch Eliphas in the face. But that won’t solve anything.

“I’m not scared of him,” Yuma says. “So you know what? I’ll be brave for both of us.”

A sound bubbles up from Astral, a laugh and a sob at the same time. “That’s a lot to ask.”

Yuma leans back, cradling Astral to his chest. “That’s okay,” Yuma says. “You were brave for me before. You kept me from falling apart during our engagement, and I’m sure you’ll be brave for me again in the future. We lean on each other now. That’s how we get through this. And on our families. I did send a message to Enna,” Yuma adds, “I told her you needed her. Should I not have done that?”

But Astral sits up and smiles through his tears. “You were right, I do need Enna.” He leans back against Yuma’s shoulder. “You take such good care of me.”

They sit in silence for a while after that, waiting for Enna to arrive. Yuma manages to get Astral to drink some water, but neither of them can bring themselves to eat.

Enna doesn’t even knock—she has no need, she has a key to the house, to be used in emergencies such as this.

“What happened?” Enna asks.

Astral sits up and Enna gasps. It’s more obvious now that he’s been struck, a bruise is forming on his cheek.

“Eliphas isn’t happy with me,” Astral says, his eyes downcast.

Enna sits on the sofa and gently touches Astral’s cheek. “He hit you?”

At Astral’s nod, Enna cries out in shock and anger. “He is out of line! Astral, tell me what happened.”

Astral goes into more detail about the meeting, telling Enna and Yuma every single thing that Eliphas said. Yuma feels like his heart is breaking, he could handle the things Eliphas said, but the fact that he said them to Astral when he was alone, when he had no one to defend him from the attacks, verbal and physical…it makes Yuma’s blood boil.

Enna begins to sob. “Astral, my brother, I am so sorry that this happened to you. We have to do something, we have to find a way to make Eliphas—”

“No,” Astral interrupts, shaking his head. “I can’t go back, not now, not for a while, I just can’t.” His eyes fill with tears once more. “I can’t face him. He said I was tainted.”

“Then I’ll go,” Yuma says.

Astral looks terrified. “He could hurt you, too!”

“I won’t go alone,” Yuma says, “I’ll bring Kite, or Akari.”

Astral laughs hysterically. “They can’t protect you! Yuma, think about this!”

“I am,” Yuma says calmly. “I’m not going to fight him, or insult him, I just want to talk to him. Astral, please, I promise I’ll be careful, but it seems to me that Eliphas’ problem lies, for the most part, with me. I want to defend myself against his biases.”

Astral covers his face. “Do I have any hope of convincing you otherwise?”

Enna strokes Astral’s hair. “You know in your heart that Yuma has this right. Trust your husband.”

“I do trust you, Yuma,” Astral says, “But I no longer trust Eliphas.”

Yuma takes Astral’s hands and kisses them. “Like I said, I won’t go alone,” Yuma says. “I’ll be careful. I won’t stay longer than I need to.”

Astral sniffles. “Do you mean to leave now?”

“As soon as I can arrange transport,” Yuma confirms. “But I’ll be back by tonight, I promise. Enna, would you be willing to stay with Astral until I get back?”

Enna gives Yuma a thoughtful look. “I have a suggestion. Astral, would you be alright if I accompany Yuma to see Eliphas, and perhaps we can call Akari to stay with you?”

Astral looks surprised, certainly Yuma is surprised, but it does sound like a good idea. Enna may not be as politically imposing as Marin or physically imposing as Gilag, but she is certainly a commanding figure on Astral world, and Akari might be just the persona Astral needs to get him through this.

Astral nods. “I would be alright with that, yes.”

So Yuma calls Akari and explains the situation to her, and halfway through the story Yuma hears a whistling sound and asks what’s happening over on her end.

“That’s the wind,” Akari says, “I’m heading to the port now.”

“You already left?” Yuma asks.

“I left as soon as you said you needed me, that’s what I’m here for.”

Yuma nearly starts crying—he’s so lucky to have such a supportive family.

 

Yuma plans what he’s going to say to Eliphas from the moment he says goodbye to Astral and walks out the door with Enna. He practices deep breathing as he hurtles through space, ignoring the view of the stars that always cheers him up. He tells himself to stay calm, to keep his temper under control, to show Eliphas that he’s not to be trifled with. But rage simmers under Yuma’s skin, and it reaches a near boiling point when Enna leads the way to Eliphas’ throne room.

Enna does not knock, nor does she announce herself. She opens the door and steps back, allowing Yuma to walk in first, and she follows behind him. Eliphas is bent over a table in front of his throne, surrounded by other Astral world leaders. When he sees Yuma, he waves his hand and dismisses the other leaders. As soon as they leave, Yuma speaks.

“If you take issue with me, I would prefer you speak to me directly about it, instead of my husband.”

Eliphas nods. “I acknowledge that I was out of line in striking Astral. I lost control of my temper for a moment. It will not happen again.”

“It should never have happened at all,” Yuma says. “As a leader, you ought to have more control than that, especially when talking to someone you once considered your top official. You insulted Astral not only by hitting him, but by disrespecting his feelings for me.”

Eliphas gives Yuma a cold look. “This marriage was about ending a war, not satisfying a need for love.”

“Why can Astral not be allowed both?” Yuma asks. “Why do you think what he feels is so terrible? Astral loves me, and I love him! We’re lucky to have that kind of love, especially considering that we’ve only known each other for a short time! I know that I’m lucky to have Astral, I respect him and I would never hurt him! I make him happy. Don’t you want that for him?”

“I am a leader,” Eliphas says. “My job is to put my people’s needs first. Astral knows this, it was to be his job someday.”

“It was a job he never wanted!” Yuma explodes. “You treat Astral like a soldier that you spawned! Astral is his own being and you have no right to police his feelings, or anyone else’s feelings!”

“You have a very two-dimensional way of thinking,” Eliphas says. “Astral’s job is to promote peace between worlds. I cannot allow his perspective to be skewed in favor of one place or another. What will his people think if they find out he visited a violent Barian, who nearly killed someone? Who said vile things about Astral world?”

Yuma balls his hands into fists. “You mean Vector. He’s a hero, and what he said may be vile but it’s true.”

Eliphas shakes his head. “You are a child. You could never understand what my people sacrificed to Barian world, what I sacrificed in allowing Astral to marry you. We lost innocent people, too. Have you any idea what takes place during a war?”

Yuma fights back tears. “I may not have been around for the worst of the fighting, but I know what it’s like to lose loved ones. I know it’s going to take time for our worlds to heal, but how can Astral and I be true ambassadors for peace if we aren’t open to each other, and honest with ourselves? You told Astral that you wish you could change things so we never got married. Why not change things so that the war ended years ago? Why not chose to end suffering instead of end a relationship?”

Eliphas glowers. “How dare you insinuate that I had any control over the actions of Barian world. Do you suggest I turn a blind eye to the attacks?”

“I don’t know who started the war,” Yuma admits. “I don’t know if it was recorded in history, or if either Barian world or Astral world will ever admit to starting the war, but I do know this. Someone took the first shot. If it was you, then you could have chosen not to start a war. If it wasn’t you, you still could have chosen not to fire back. You could have asked for help, you could have tried to seek peace! You could have chosen not to involve yourself in a war that you couldn’t end. And you didn’t end the war, and Barian world didn’t end the war. The war _isn’t over_ , do you understand that?!” Yuma begins to cry. “You haven’t done anything, you pushed the task of peace off on me and Astral, so you could sit back and pretend you didn’t have a hand in starting the war! The war isn’t going to end until the people of both our worlds can move past hate and a desire for revenge! And that includes you! But you reject the love Astral and I have on the basis that it will keep us from doing our jobs? Don’t you know how powerful love is? You want Astral and I to accomplish so much, but there’s only two of us and millions of people we need to reach out to! How are we supposed to do that if we don’t give ourselves to each other completely? It doesn’t mean we don’t love our homes, it doesn’t mean we’re dishonoring the dead, it means that we’re starting over and being true to ourselves! And I won’t let you tell Astral that it makes him tainted, or somehow incapable of being an ambassador for peace!”

Yuma pauses to wipe his eyes and catch his breath. “If you have any contact with Astral at all, it better be to offer an apology. I’m asking too much for you to apologize to me, or to be civil to me at all, but if you can’t respect Astral then you don’t deserve respect from him.” Yuma glares at Eliphas. “You broke something in Astral today. You were so worried about me tainting him that you didn’t even think about what you were doing to him. He’s afraid of you. He doesn’t even want to come back to this place because of what you did to him. So before you point a finger of blame at me, or Barian world, or Vector, take a good look at yourself.”

And with that, Yuma turns and leaves the room. As he walks to the door, Enna speaks.

“I have no more to say to you. Yuma has said everything.”

Yuma stops walking and waits for Enna to catch up to him. They walk out together, and they keep walking until they reach Astral world’s port.

Yuma asks quietly, “Did I overstep?”

Enna puts her arm around Yuma’s shoulders. “You were perfectly in line.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “We need each other too much. I need you.”
> 
> DUB LINE REFERENCE NO JUTSU. BECAUSE THAT LINE ALWAYS MAKES ME CRY.


	9. I Defy You Stars (and I fart in ur general direction too)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title inspired by R&J Act 5 scene 1 and a line from Monty Python and the Holy Grail

In the temple to Don Thousand, Yuma stands before a bowl of blood, a mixture given by all Barians wishing to be considered for government. He drops a piece of paper into the bowl, with a question written on it.

_‘Why did you condone war with Astral world?’_

The blood begins to bubble, and Yuma watches in horror as a dark shape rises from the bowl. The shadow forms the silhouette of Don Thousand, and the god grins down at Yuma with a mouth full of sharp teeth.

“You don’t know anything,” The god says, and he opens his gaping maw to swallow Yuma whole.

 

“That’s entirely impossible,” Marin says, stroking Yuma’s hair.

“Don’t you think I know that?” Yuma snaps. He’s had the nightmare since he got back from Astral world, two weeks ago. He can barely sleep, and Astral is not fairing much better, battling his own demons in his nightmares.

“If you want to go to the temple, I’d be happy to escort you,” Marin says, ignoring Yuma’s outburst, “And I’ll stay with you and make sure you don’t get hurt.”

Yuma closes his eyes and presses the heels of his palms into his head. He doesn’t know what he wants.

Astral and Yuma have spent the last week sifting through political papers and reports, both unofficial ones on the IPN and official reports smuggled to them by their sisters. They can make a decent timeline of events for the Hundreds Years War, but all their information seems to leave out how the war started in the first place. They don’t even know how much of the timeline they’re missing, they have only seen approximations of when the war started. Yuma can’t see how that could be possible, given all the witnesses that there were to the event, but if the documents from the start of the war exist, they are very well hidden.

Yuma even spoke to his family’s old friend, Circinus, who admitted that he had never seen early documents, and wouldn’t know where to look for them. Yuma’s not sure he believes Circinus, though he can’t imagine why the older Barian would lie to him. He’s also not sure Circinus is at liberty to discuss such things, so maybe Yuma is unfairly harsh on him.

“Can’t you ask for me?” Yuma whines.

“I could,” Marin says, “But that won’t give you the closure you need. You’re going to see Vector soon, right? We can do it after your visit.”

Yuma looks over at Astral. “How do you feel about it?”

Astral jolts out of a daze. “What?”

Yuma smiles and reaches across the sofa to run his fingers through Astral’s hair. “Going to Don Thousand’s temple after we visit Vector.”

Astral bites his lip. “I’m not sure I would go inside…but I would wait for you outside.”

Yuma nods. “Fair enough.”

Marin looks at the clock. She hasn’t been at the house for long, but she doesn’t have a whole lot of time these days. The Barian emperors are down a man, and while Vector was never the most efficient ruler, his absence is felt.

Yuma gives Marin a hug and promises to be in touch. As soon as she leaves, Astral rolls off the couch and lands hard on the floor.

“Ouch,” Yuma says.

“I am so tired,” Astral moans, “Yet I can’t sleep.” He looks sheepishly at Yuma. “And I am sorry, but I don’t think I can look at those documents one more time today. My eyes and my head hurt.”

Yuma sympathizes with that. “Let’s do something else, then,” Yuma says. “Let’s go for a walk.”

Astral sits up. “Now?”

Yuma nods. “I bet there’s a new issue of Esper Robin out. Let’s see if we can hunt down a copy.”

After being inside for the better part of two weeks, the sun hurts both of their eyes, but they recover quickly after they buy some frozen treats from a street vendor. They walk to the port, arms linked, and Yuma observes the people of Aries as they go about their day. He watches kids play together and adults talk, he watches store owners exchange greetings, and he watches an old neo-spacian alien feed some local wildlife.

“Peace is everywhere,” Yuma mutters. “Why can’t it always be this easy?”

Astral sighs. “I know. I wish it was that simple.”

Yuma is going to speak to Nash soon about building new mental health facilities, maybe collaborating with other planets on new treatment plans for Barians suffering from PTSD. Yuma acknowledges that it’s going to be hard to get Barians and Astrals to all get along, he and Astral have focused on convincing everyone that the war is over, and there is no winner. It’ll be a hard sell, because they can’t figure out what started the war in the first place.

Yuma and Astral find their comic book, and on the way back Yuma spots a pretty little lamp—a glowing bulb surrounded by multicolored glass. He buys it and has it giftwrapped. It’ll be a nice gift for Vector.

 

Yuma and Astral enter Vector’s room together. The doctors have warned Yuma that lately Vector hasn’t been speaking much. He seems to have let go of his initial anger at being hospitalized, but now he’s stuck in a state of emotional confusion, and he’s unwilling to voice his concerns to anyone. But Yuma hopes he can get through to Vector today.

“I got you a present,” Yuma says, setting the box in Vector’s lap. He’s still restrained, but it’s not as restricting as it used to be. Vector can open the gift himself, but all he does is stare at the box. He’s wearing his mask.

“Do you want to open it later?” Yuma asks, sitting on the edge of Vector’s bed. Astral stands by the door.

Vector shrugs. “I don’t know.”

So Yuma doesn’t take action. “How are you feeling?”

Vector’s eyes look blank. “I don’t know,” he repeats. He takes a deep breath. “The doctors…they brought in someone who survived an attack. A Barian world attack.”

Yuma nearly chokes on air. “They brought an Astral to see you?”

Vector nods. “I thought she was lying, but she was like me. She said the things I was thinking. She showed me her scars.” Vector’s gaze remains unfocused. “I thought I was doing what I had to do, for the kids I couldn’t save and for myself. I thought I was doing the right thing. But…it’s true, Barian world killed innocents, too.” He closes his eyes. “I told myself it didn’t matter, that they weren’t like us, but I think I was misled. I think I was wrong.”

Yuma is shocked at how much talking Vector is doing. He takes Vector’s hand, and Vector jerks back.

“How can you touch me after what I did?” Vector demands. “How can you find it in yourself to forgive me so easily?”

Yuma leans forward. “I don’t know,” he says. “I wonder, too, why some people can forgive others easily, why some can’t. Maybe it’s just who I am. What’s the science behind forgiveness? Is it science? Is it just something you feel in your heart?”

“I don’t have a heart,” Vector says automatically.

Yuma gasps, and so does Astral. Yuma thinks that’s more horrifying to hear than Vector’s admission of wanting to kill himself.

“You do have a heart,” Yuma and Astral say at the same time.

Vector laughs. “No. I gave it away.”

Now Yuma is just plain confused. “Gave it away? To a lover?”

Vector shakes his head. “To Don Thousand.”

“To Don Thousand?” Yuma echoes. “How do you mean?”

Vector cups his hands together and stares at them, as if he’s holding something in his palms. “I wanted something. I went to Don Thousand. He said he would give me power if I gave him my life. He made me an emperor.”

“That doesn’t mean he has your heart,” Yuma sputters.

Vector lifts his head. “Yes it does,” he says quietly. “I haven’t been happy, or satisfied, since that day. Don Thousand took everything good about me as payment.” He chuckles. “There can’t have been much there to begin with.”

Yuma feels like the room is spinning. He grips the edge of the bed. “Did you tell anyone about this?”

Vector shakes his head. “Nope. Who would believe me?” The blank looks melts off Vector’s face, replaced with one of intensity. “You believe me, don’t you?”

But it’s not Yuma that Vector is speaking to—it’s Astral. Astral, who stares at Vector with utter horror written on his face.

“Why would you do that?” Astral asks.

Vector shrugs. “I believed in him too much.”

“What’s going on?” Yuma asks.

Astral gulps and whispers, “Vector sold his soul to Don Thousand.”

Yuma sputters, “That’s…no, that can’t be…”

“Don Thousand is a true god,” Astral says. “He has powers beyond comprehension, but only if someone believes in them. Vector believed that Don Thousand could take his soul…so Don Thousand did just that.” Astral rushes forward and grabs Yuma’s hand. “We have to go get help.”

“Why?” Yuma asks.

Vector suddenly begins to scream and thrash. The box flies off his lap and Yuma hears the lamp shatter. Astral drags Yuma back.

“Yuma, Vector gave his soul to Don Thousand—that means Don Thousand can manipulate Vector, use him like a puppet!”

Doctors rush in to the room, trying to ask Vector what’s wrong, but he just continues to scream. He sounds like he’s in pain.

“Sedate him!” Astral yells, “It’s not his fault, he can’t control it!”

The doctors do end up sedating Vector, but Yuma hears them say that it’s because they’re afraid he’ll hurt himself. The sedative takes effect quickly, leaving Vector sprawled on his bed, his mask askew, his eyes red with tears.

Astral rushes to Vector’s side and takes off his mask. “What exactly did Don Thousand promise you?”

The doctors stare at Astral in confusion. Vector’s lips move, but Yuma can’t hear anything from where he stands. Astral gives Vector his mask back and places his hands over Vector’s chest.

“Just hang in there for a little while,” Astral says. “Yuma and I are going to help you.”

“How?” Yuma asks, but Astral doesn’t answer. He grabs Yuma’s hand and leads him out of Vector’s room, out of the hospital, and stops only to pull Yuma behind a large crystal statue—not a great hiding place, but Yuma’s not in a state to care about that.

“We have to go see Don Thousand,” Astral says. “We have to get him to release Vector’s soul.”

“How?” Yuma asks. “Is it possible? I didn’t even know Don Thousand could take a soul!”

“It’s a very old kind of power,” Astral says, “I’m not surprised you didn’t know about it, very few people do. I’m not surprised that Vector knew, he was so hell bent on revenge that I’m sure he spent months trying to figure out how to get it. Gods are tricky beings, Yuma. They’re more like petulant children than almighty kings. We need a plan, we need trick Don Thousand.”

Yuma rubs his forehead. “I can barely wrap my head around this. What happened with Vector just know? What did he tell you?”

Astral looks like he could cry. “I think it was Don Thousand. I think he hurt Vector for telling us about the deal they made. And Vector told me that Don Thousand promised that Vector would see his revenge in the utter destruction of Astral world.”

Yuma frowns. “How could he promise that? That’s an awfully big thing to promise.”

“I know,” Astral says, “Not to mention he’d been trying to accomplish that same thing for hundreds of years.”

Yuma gasps. “Maybe that’s how we’ll get him! Okay, I have an idea.”

 

Yuma and Astral enter Don Thousand’s temple together. The building is empty, the air stagnant, and the scent of death is overwhelming. A huge, stone offering bowl lies at the back of the temple, balanced on a spire of Barian crystal. The closer they get to the bowl, the more overpowering the smell of blood becomes. It’s an utterly dreadful place to be.

Yuma walks to the bowl alone, Astral waits a few steps back. Yuma drops a piece of paper into the bowl and watches as it turns red with blood. The paper sinks to the bottom of the bowl and Yuma steps back to stand with Astral. Out loud, he says what he wrote on the paper.

“Don Thousand, I accuse you of false prophecy.”

The words echo around the temple. For a long time, there is no sign of a response. Then an eerie laugh rings out, sounding as though it comes from the bowl itself.

“Those are big words from a small boy.”

Yuma shivers and Astral gasps.

“Don Thousand?” Yuma asks.

“That is what I am called,” The voice says. “And what have we hear? A human pretending to be a Barian, and an Astral leader who sunk below his rank.”

“Don’t talk to Astral that way,” Yuma says.

“He is filth,” Don Thousand cries, “You brought filth into my temple, human child! And then you make ridiculous accusations against me!”

“They are not ridiculous!” Yuma says. “You promised Vector revenge in the utter destruction of Astral world, but it’s not up to you! You’ve already failed, Astral and I are proof of that!”

“I have not failed,” Don Thousand croons. “I may have been sidetracked, but it is temporary. Your paper-marriage means nothing. There will come a time when people will forget your names.”

“No, there will not,” Yuma says. “Because Astral and I will leave our presence strewn across the universe! So many people will know our names that there will be no way for you to erase us!”

“You think so?” Don Thousand laughs. “I have done it before.”

“What do you mean?” Yuma demands.

“I don’t have to answer to you,” Don Thousand says.

“Yes, you do!” Yuma screams. “You made a promise you had no intention of keeping! You’ll never destroy Astral world because you take too much pleasure in the pain of its citizens!”

“Finally, some truth from your mouth,” Don Thousand laughs. “Yes, I do take pleasure in the death of those filthy Astrals.”

“Why?!” Astral screams. “What did my people ever do to you?”

“You existed!” Don Thousand howls. “You existed, bringing light to my darkness, trying to convince the world that evil could be done away with! I have been at war with Eliphas for thousands of years, and we will continue to fight simply for the sheer joy of it! Don’t you understand? There is no point to the war other than pain! Pain and suffering and hatred shall be the norm among your people, and my own, because my hatred for Astral world runs so deep that it will be written in the blood of the Barians until the end of time! Vector is proof of that—look at how deep his hatred runs, not even your modern medications can cure it!”

“Because you lied to him!” Yuma screams. “You made him believe that he was fighting for some greater purpose, for revenge, but that’s not even what you want! You can’t fulfil his promise because you never cared about revenge in the first place! You are false!”

“I AM POWER INCARNATE!” Don Thousand bellows.

The bowl of blood begins to bubble and smoke. Yuma grabs Astral’s hand and clings to it.

“You’re a liar!” Yuma screeches. “You are nothing to me! I’m not afraid of you, and I refuse to give you the power to make me afraid of you!”

“You lie!” Don Thousand shouts.

Astral steps forwards, “No, he’s right! You have no power here because we believe that we are stronger than you, or Eliphas, or any kind of hatred you attempt to spew! You’re nothing but a bad dream, and you’ve had too much power for too long! You never cared about anyone but yourself!”

Don Thousand laughs. “Even if I have no power over you, I can have power over the rest of the world, just as I have power over Vector! His heart is mine!”

“No it isn’t!” Yuma cries. “Because when Vector loses his faith in you, your power over him will be broken, and it’s already begun! You know this, that’s why you tried to hurt him today! But you lied to him, and now I know it, and soon the whole universe will know it, and your deal with Vector will be as meaningless as you are!”

“INSOLENT BASTARD!” Don Thousand screams. The bowl begins to shake, and the blood splashes at the stone sidings, spilling onto the floor. The bowl jerks, and a shape begins to form.

Yuma smirks, and steps forward to place his foot on the spire of crystal under the bowl. “You are weak,” he says. With one kick, the crystal spire breaks apart, and the bowl crashes to the floor. Don Thousand shrieks in pain as the blood spreads, the figure stretches and breaks, and Yuma and Astral stare in contempt at the stain spreading across the stone.

“Oops,” Yuma says. “I didn’t think that would happen.”

“Nor did I,” Astral says. “So, shall we go home?”

Yuma hits the playback button on his communicator. Yuma’s recorded voice echoes around the temple.

_“Don Thousand, I accuse you of false prophecy.”_

Yuma grins. “Yeah, let’s go home.”

They walk out of the temple hand-in-hand. “I got a good name for the blog post we’re about to write,” Yuma says.

“What is it?” Astral asks.

“I’m thinking we call it, _‘Oh snap Don Thousand you just got rekt!’_ ”

Astral fights down a laugh. “Um, maybe not.”

“Aw come on!” Yuma whines, “It would be honest!”

“Yeah but…maybe we should be a little more professional about it?”

Yuma pouts. “Oh, okay. But can I refer to us as secret agents?”

This time Astral can’t hold back the laugh. “Okay, you know what? Since it was your plan, sure. We can be secret agents.”

Yuma kisses Astral’s cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Astral says.

 

 

Yuma forgot to tell Nash, Marin, and Akari about his and Astral’s plan. The day after they post the recording of their conversation with Don Thousand, Yuma and Astral wake up to the sound of their doorbell ringing over and over again.

Yuma stumbles downstairs and opens the door, and gets the hug of his lifetime from his sister.

“YOU ARE AS BRAVE AS YOU ARE RECKLESS!” Akari screams in Yuma’s ear. “What the actual hell were you thinking?”

Yuma, still not entirely awake, cries, “What are you talking about?!”

Marin holds up a newspaper from Barian World. The headline reads, ‘God is Dead.’

“Oh,” Yuma says weakly. “I guess um…I didn’t think this through?”

Nash shakes his head. “Yuma, what you did was…”

“Are you in trouble?” Yuma asks, wriggling out of Akari’s arms.

“No,” Nash says quickly, “Well, some people aren’t happy with the emperors, but that’s nothing new. I still wish you would have warned us.”

“We thought we’d have more time,” Astral says, coming downstairs. “Have the news outlets picked it up already?”

“Oh yeah,” Marin says. “Not just on Barian world, but Astral world, too. People are calling for all kinds of changes to the power of the gods on both planets.”

Yuma and Astral smile at each other. “Perfect,” they say together.

“Perfect?” Akari echoes.

Yuma nods. “Let’s call a press conference. It’s time we all discuss the role of gods in politics.”

“What exactly are you planning?” Akari asks.

“Don’t worry, sis,” Yuma says, patting Akari’s hand. “Astral and I are going to be okay. We’ve got each other’s backs.”

“But I don’t see how this is your job,” Akari says. “This sounds like more espionage and power play than was in your job description.”

“You’re right,” Yuma admits, “But we made it our job. We can’t have peace unless we first target hate. And the biggest source of hate on both our worlds is Don Thousand and Eliphas.”

“Sounds like we’re all in for a shake up,” Marin says. “I’m on board.”

“As am I,” says Nash.

Akari frowns. “I’m still not entirely sure how we ended up at this point, but Yuma, I’ll support you and Astral however I can.”

“Good,” Yuma says. “Because we’re going to need it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next is the epilogue!!!!


	10. Epilogue: Go hence, to have more talk (of love and friendship)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title inspired by a quote from R&J Act V Scene III

Yuma knocks on the door.

“Come in!” Vector calls.

Yuma enters his room. Vector is no longer restrained, and he sits at a desk, unmasked and surrounded by books. One thing on his desk stands out.

“I thought it broke!” Yuma says.

Vector sheepishly turns the lamp around to show Yuma a jagged hole. “I couldn’t fix it completely,” he says.

Yuma crosses the room and kneels next to Vector. “I can get you another one,” he offers.

Vector shakes his head. “I think it’s fitting. And disgustingly poetic,” He adds, making a face.

Yuma laughs. “Yeah, I guess it is.” He looks at the books. “What are you reading?”

“All sort of things,” Vector says. “Most of them are biographies from survivors of war. There’s one I really like, about an earth girl, that I keep rereading.”

“Is it helping?” Yuma asks.

“I guess,” Vector says. “The doctors seem to think so.” He looks nervous. “They say I can go home once a week, and stay the night.”

“That’s great!” Yuma says, “Why do you look so worried?”

Vector looks away. “I’m not sure where to go.”

“You should go to the palace, of course,” Yuma says. Then he realizes what Vector means. “It is still your home, you know.”

“I’m not welcome, I’m sure,” Vector says bitterly. “Can’t say I’d be surprised.”

“Then come stay with me and Astral,” Yuma says.

Vector laughs incredulously. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am,” Yuma says. “I’m sure Astral wouldn’t mind.”

Vector holds up his hand. “First of all, you haven’t asked him. Second of all, I’m not sure I want to stay with you lovebirds. Third of all, have you learned nothing?”

Yuma stands and pokes Vector’s shoulder. “Well, you haven’t tried to kill me in like, two months, so I’d say that’s a good track record.”

Vector shakes his head. “Your faith in me is amazing.” He doesn’t sound sarcastic at all.

“There’s also the fact that your deal with Don Thousand is broken,” Yuma adds.

Vector’s hand goes over his chest. “Yeah, there’s that.” He says quietly.

Days after Yuma and Astral exposed Don Thousand’s lies, and as the Barians clamored for the destruction of Don Thousand’s temple, Vector had woken up in the hospital with searing pain in his chest. He said that when it passed, he felt something he hadn’t felt in years. _Relieved_. He said he knew at that moment that Don Thousand no longer had his soul. Of course, that brought with it all kinds of issues that Vector had to deal with. But he’s finally begun to heal, and realize that he was, indeed, sick. He stopped fighting the doctors who tried to treat him, and most importantly he stopped fighting himself.

“So will you stay with us?” Yuma asks.

Vector sighs. “Thank you for the offer, but…I’m not ready for that.”

Yuma nods. “Okay, I can respect that. But I think you should talk to the other Barians about going back to the palace.” Vector looks hesitant, so Yuma continues, “I can call them now, and stay while you ask.”

“Aren’t they busy writing…what did you say, a constitution?”

“They’ll take my call,” Yuma says confidently.

Vector rolls his eyes. “Fine, go ahead and try.”

So Yuma calls Nash, and just as he said, Nash takes the call.

“What’s going on Yuma?”

Yuma grins at Vector, who looks shocked. “I’m with Vector right now. He’s got something to ask you.”

Yuma holds the phone out to Vector, and he shrinks back. “I can’t,” he says.

“Vector?” Nash asks, “Are you there?”

“No!” Vector yelps.

“Well, um, you…I got a call from the hospital,” Nash says. “They said you’re doing well. Is that true?”

“Maybe,” Vector says.

Yuma sighs. “Nash, I think you and the other Emperors need to pay Vector a visit.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Vector cries, “They’ll kill me!”

“No we won’t,” Marin says.

“What the—am I on speaker?” Vector sputters.

“No!” Alit and Gilag say together.

Yuma says, “Vector seems to think that he’s not welcome in the palace. Is that true?”

There’s a moment of silence. “It’s not,” Nash finally says.

“Forgive me for not believing you!” Vector says.

“Look, Vector,” Mizael says, “We all need to adjust to this. Do you want to come back to the palace?”

“Do you want me there?” Vector asks.

“This is a circular conversation,” Yuma says. “Which is why I said you guys need to come see Vector and _talk to each other_.”

“Yuma is right,” says Durbe. “We haven’t…we should have done this a while ago.”

“I’m not sure I want you here!” Vector says. Yuma glares at him and he adds, “If you’re going to attempt to murder me. Because I swear Nash wants to.”

“I do not,” Nash says. “Not anymore. I know you still have a long road to recovery but…I’ve come to accept that the circumstance surrounding—”

“Cut to the chase!” Marin interrupts.

Nash says, “I think you deserve a second chance, Vector.”

Vector looks utterly shocked for the second time today. “I’m sorry?” He says.

Nash says, “ _We_ think you deserve a second chance. So if you want to come back to the palace during your recovery, if you can promise to follow the directives of your doctors, then I can promise that you’ll be welcomed.”

Nobody says anything for a while, until Yuma gasps, “Vector, are you crying?!”

“No!” Vector says, but Yuma could swear that there are tears in his eyes.

“Okay seriously,” Yuma says, directly into his communicator, “If you guys don’t come visit Vector like, _tomorrow_ , I am personally going to drag your asses out here.”

“Alright, alright,” Nash says. “Vector, can we come see you tomorrow?”

Vector clears his throat. “Um…sure.”

Yuma cheers. “Yes!”

Vector adds, “Just you all. Not Yuma.”

Yuma pouts. “Aww.”

“It’s probably for the best,” Marin says. “Don’t worry, Yuma, we won’t cause any trouble for the hospital.”

“Fine,” Yuma says, “I trust you guys. So I’ll talk to you all later, now say goodbye to Vector.”

“Bye, Vector,” the six Emperors say.

“Bye,” Vector says quietly.

Yuma ends the call. “See, I knew you could do it! I’m proud of you!”

Vector actually smiles. “I guess it’s a step forward.”

“It is,” Yuma says, “And that’s a great thing.”

 

Yuma arrives back on Aries at sunset, and the house is empty when he walks into it. Astral isn’t back from his meeting with Eliphas yet. It’s his first time seeing Eliphas face-to-face since Eliphas hit him, and Yuma had wanted to go, but Astral said he wanted to face Eliphas himself.

“But I’m worried about you,” Yuma had told Astral.

“I would be concerned if you weren’t,” Astral had said, “But I’m not scared of him anymore. I’m not trying to slight you, but this is personal. You said your piece to Eliphas, and now it’s my turn. Do you understand?”

Yuma sighed, but nodded. “Yeah, I do. But please, ask Enna to be nearby?”

Astral had promised to do so, and they called Enna together and told her about the planned meeting. She personally swore to Yuma that she wouldn’t let Astral get hurt, so that’s comforting.

Yuma eats alone and watches the galactic news. Midway through the program, the report covers the push for democracy on Astral world and Barian world.

“Today the god of Astral world, Eliphas, announced that he would step down and allow the people of Astral world to elect a new leader. Early reports say Enna, a high ranking priestess, who has long been outspoken on the planet, is currently ranking high in the polls. Meanwhile on Barian world, the temple to Don Thousand has been completely leveled, and the remaining six emperors have unveiled plans to build a memorial to their fallen citizens in the lot next to where the temple stood. The seventh Barian emperor, Vector, continues to recover from his possession by the former god. Both planets announced that talks between their chosen representatives are to be held later this week, with the focus being on how to help the planets mend the wounds between them. Peace Ambassadors Astral and Tsukumo Yuma, who first alerted the universe to Don Thousand and Eliphas’ lies, are said to be leading these upcoming talks.”

“That’s not true,” Yuma snorts, but he could see why people would think that. He and Astral will certainly be attending the talks, and they will write about it on their joint blog, but they’re not qualified to be leaders of it.

Yuma finishes his dinner and turns off the TV. He showers, changes into pajamas, and lies in bed, wondering when Astral will get home. He undoes the ties that hold back the curtain around the bed, and watches the fabric flutter into place. When the fabric finally goes still and he has nothing to distract himself with any longer, Yuma rolls on to his side and closes his eyes. For a while he floats between consciousness and dream-like unawareness, until he hears the bedroom door open.

“Astral?”

“I’m home.”

Yuma sits up, rubbing his eyes. The curtain around the bed is so thin that he can watch every move Astral makes as he undresses. Astral floats over to the bed, moves the curtain aside, and settles down on Yuma’s lap.

“Did I wake you?” Astral asks.

“Not really,” Yuma says, “I wasn’t exactly asleep.” He puts his hands on Astral’s waist, thumbs brushing his gems. “How was your meeting?”

“Productive,” Astral says. “Eliphas apologized to me. I could tell he was sincere.”

“That’s good,” Yuma says. “I saw on the news that he publically announced he was stepping down.”

“Yes, but we already knew that,” Astral says, and he sighs. “I just don’t think he _really_ understands why I felt so betrayed. After a while I stopped trying to explain it. It was just making me upset.”

Yuma leans forward and gives Astral a kiss. “I’m sorry to hear that. Maybe he’ll understand later, after he’s had time to see how things evolve from here.”

“I hope so,” Astral says quietly. “In spite of everything, I don’t want to cut ties with him completely. He was such a huge part of my life for so long.”

Yuma nods. “I understand, and I’m here for you if you need to talk about it.”

Astral smiles and leans against Yuma. “I know you are,” he says. “And I know you understand more than anyone.”

Yuma wraps his arms around Astral and pulls him down on the bed, rolling over on top of Astral and snuggling into his neck. Astral laughs.

“That tickles!”

Yuma presses his lips to a gem on Astral’s neck. “Does this tickle?”

“No,” Astral says, breathless. “Yuma…”

Yuma kisses up Astral’s neck, along his jaw, up to his lips. Astral yanks Yuma closer, kissing him soundly. Yuma places his palms on Astral’s shoulders, over his gems, as his head spins with thoughts of how much he loves Astral.

Astral whispers against Yuma’s mouth, “We have a lot to do tomorrow.”

Yuma sighs and leans back. Astral’s face is flushed, his eyes are bright, and Yuma wants nothing more than to kiss him all night, to map Astral’s body with his lips.

“ _Yuma,_ ” Astral moans.

“Sorry,” Yuma says, moving his hands off Astral’s gems. “But you know, we’re still kind of newlyweds.”

Astral laughs. “You’ll say that forever, won’t you?”

“It’s only been four months,” Yuma says, “That’s a long way from forever.”

“Alright,” Astral says, “Until when will we be newlyweds?”

Yuma has to think about that. “When I stop waking up and wondering how real life could be better than my dreams. When I stop being surprised by how much I utterly adore you. When we get tired of each other.”

Astral looks stunned. “Wow.”

“Yep,” says Yuma, “And as I’m sure you already suspected, I can’t see any of that happening. So I guess we’ll just always be newlyweds.”

Astral grabs Yuma’s shoulders and rolls them over, pinning Yuma beneath him. “You are insufferably romantic, did you know that?”

“I do now,” Yuma says happily.

Astral lays his head on Yuma’s chest, over his heart. “I suppose there’s nothing wrong with being newlyweds forever.”

“Nothing wrong with it at all,” Yuma agrees.

After all, they’ve got a long road ahead of them. They both want to see their planets heal, and for that to happen they must first wade through the pain that the war caused. They need to hold on to everything good in their lives if they want to make it through that. Yuma thinks that he and Astral can do it. There’s so much they’ve already accomplished together.

“Astral?”

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Yuma.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally done! I have been working on this since May 7, nearly four months now, and I'm so happy with how it turned out and I hope you-yes you, you reading this-agree with me ^^ 
> 
> Thank you for reading, please leave a comment/kudos on your way out, and I hope to see you around more of my stories!


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